


A Small Change in Time

by LittleAngel



Series: Small Changes Big Differences [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Captain America Movie Ending, Gen, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Not Captain America: The Winter Soldier Compliant, Overactive Imagination
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 80,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25498762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleAngel/pseuds/LittleAngel
Summary: I like to re-write things. So, let’s say, hypothetically that Captain America got caught with Red Skull in the Tesseract’s field. Loki wasn’t actually trying to take over Asgard, but he still fell.  And the Avenger’s movie happens with a few (*cough*) minor (*cough*) changes.  I blame all of this on the insanity that is my brain.  I wrote this originally for my own imagination/brain. It's not meant to follow canon too closely.
Series: Small Changes Big Differences [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2022697
Comments: 7
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1: The Captain, The God, and the Rewrite

**Author's Note:**

> Title: A Small Change in Time  
> Pairings: None? Ish? Maybe???  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing! Everything belongs to Marvel. Sigh

## 1944 The Valkyrie

“Gods, Captain. We could be Gods!” The head of Hydra spoke as the two continued to fight for dominance of the Valkyrie.

Steve threw his shield at Red Skull, declining to answer, but it was flung away into the casing holding the Tesseract in place. 

“The Tesseract! What have you done?” Red Skull started moving towards the Cube, stooping to pick it up. Steve also moved to intercept him. Red Skull saw the movement out of the corner of his eye, and before Steve could grab the Cube, he was pulled into a headlock. Steve couldn’t break out, and after a few minutes started to lose consciousness from lack of oxygen. The Cube started to glow and with one hand Red Skull grabbed for it, keeping a strong grip on Captain America. 

The jolt of energy when the Cube connected with Schmidt’s hand was enough to awaken Steve a little from his lack of oxygen daze. Unfortunately, Schmidt was frozen in place from the Cube’s energy and Steve still couldn’t break free. He knew he didn’t have a lot of time, so using his foot he got a hold of his shield and flung it with as much energy as he could muster at the Valkyrie’s main pilot control panel. His aim was true and the shield wedged the throttle into a downward push towards the ice.

However, Steve didn’t see any of that, as he and Schmidt were disintegrating through the door to the universe that the Tesseract opened for them.

When the energy was expelled, the Tesseract fell to the floor, once again dormant, melting through the plane and into the frozen waters below. Within the next five minutes the Valkyrie crashed into the ice, breaking through several layers before finally stopping it’s descent. 

There was no news of the Valkyrie bombing the Eastern SeaBoard, and no sign of it in any satellites available to the Allied forces. Within two days of no news, the Allies declared Schmidt and Captain America dead, and the fight against Hydra won. 

Howard Stark set off on the first of many search and rescue missions, but the only thing he recovered was the Tesseract at the bottom of the ocean. It wouldn’t be for almost seventy years that the Valkyrie would be found with frozen missiles and the Captain America Shield wedged between the throttle and pilot’s chair.

## 2011 New York Shield Facility

“That’s all that was recovered?” Fury looked down at the object on the table, a frown marrying his features. 

“Yes sir.” Coulson also looked down, the gleam in his eye to be holding this historic artifact could not be hidden.

“Perhaps it’s time we had a conversation with Barnes.” Fury thought out loud. “He’s not going to be happy.”

Sergeant James Barnes, code named The Winter Soldier, deflected from Hydra/Russia in the late 90’s with the help of his once trainee Natasha Romanoff- code named The Black Widow, Clint Barton- code named Hawkeye, and Phil Coulson their handler. 

Indeed, when Phil brought the shield in an unmarked bag to the hideout that the trio was sharing after their latest mission, Barnes was truly not happy.

He gripped the shield tightly between his metal hand and real hand, staring at it like he didn’t know what to do with it. Phil’s quiet “I’m sorry, we searched the whole ship. This is all they found.” Went in one ear and out the other.

Bucky didn’t notice the gentle hand Natasha put on his arm, nor the sympathetic look Clint gave him. He had eyes only for the shield, hoping it would somehow give up its secrets. Unfortunately, the vibranium shield did no such thing. 

It was two days before Natasha was able to get James to do anything but stare at the shield in a grief-ridden trance. And even then, it was only to eat, sleep and to an extent groom himself as to look like a human being and not a zombie.

The first time Fury casually brought up the idea of James taking on the mantle of Captain America, a few months after Phil had given him the shield, the sniper nearly killed him. It had taken Phil, Natasha, Hill, and two other agents to hold him down.

Almost a year later, when Phil came to him with the news of Barton’s capture at the hands of Loki, which began the invasion of the Chitauri, the agent brought up the idea of James taking over as Captain America again.

After a lot of talking on Phil’s part, to explain the reasoning and voicing that it might be something that Steve would’ve wanted, Bucky agreed to do it.

## 2010 Asgard

“Father, I’m telling you I don’t believe Thor is ready for the throne! He will throw the nine realms into chaos!” Loki was in the throne room again trying to convince his father, Odin, the All-Father of Asgard that Thor was not yet ready to take on the role of King.

Odin looked down on his son, barely giving his words a thought, “And would you do better in his place? Chaos is in your blood Loki. It seems that there is more to this than just your brother’s readiness for the throne.”

Loki did not rise to the bait like he normally would. This was not about him. This was about keeping Thor from doing something rash that would lead to war. “Father, you must see how-“

“Enough Loki. I have spoken and Thor will take over the throne. Mjolnir is ready for him to take his place, and so am I.” Loki knew a dismissal when he heard one. Without another word he gave a slight bow and left the throne room to return to his chambers.

It seemed like he would need to take drastic measures for Odin to see that Thor wasn’t ready to be king. He had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but another part of him was excited about the challenge ahead. Loki realized that Odin was to blind by Thor being the eldest son to see his faults, or see them and dismiss them out of hand. Odin had always favored Thor, Loki knew, and it had hurt when he was younger, until he had learned to harden his heart to the disappointment and disapproving gaze of his father and the cruelty from the other citizens of Asgard. 

That was no matter. Thor would not bring about the end of the nine realms in his quest for glory and arrogance. Not if Loki had anything to say about that. Especially since he still lived in these realms.

## A Few Days Later

Thor was banished, and Loki was confused. /Why didn’t I freeze like the others when I was touched by the Giants? /

The God of mischief found himself in the weapons room moving steadily closer to the Casket of Ancient Winters.

“Loki.” Odin’s voice stopped Loki’s hand, which was a millimeter away from touching the frozen device.

“Why.” The God of mischief didn’t turn around, nor take his eyes off the weapon. It felt like it was calling to him. 

Odin explained Loki’s history. Told him about the Frost Giant Wars. Told him about finding his tiny body left to die. Told him how he wasn’t truly the son of Odin, and how he could never take over the throne.

There was yelling, of that Loki was sure. But his mind was too chaotic, too full of these revelations to truly comprehend what he was saying. Loki and Odin battled with words, one in a state of horrified confusion, one fighting off the Odinsleep to make his point.

When Odin finally did succumb to the Odinsleep and the guards were called, Loki realized that Thor needed to figure out what would make him worthy quickly, or the realms would be in bigger trouble than they were now. Thor’s friends, never ones to believe anything Loki said would try to undermine what Loki was doing. Of that he was sure. 

As Loki took over the throne for Odin and Thor, in his absence, the God of Mischief knew that time was of the essence. Already the Warrior’s Three and Sif had gotten Heimdall to take them to Earth, and the Keeper of the Bifröst never did like Loki. /Now, I think I know why. /

It only took a moment, but Loki realized what he needed to do to make sure Thor got his power back and learned how to be a proper king.

He sent the Destroyer to Earth.

A commotion in the palace drew Loki’s attention. /Laufey… Odin. /

Loki went to his not father’s chamber and killed the Frost Giant’s leader before he could kill Odin. Somehow Laufey had known that Odin was in the Odinsleep and had come to exact his revenge, almost killing Frigga, Loki’s mother in the process.

As much as Loki despised Odin, he could never hold the woman he knew as his mother in the same contempt. In that moment, he was in a chaotic rage that needed revenge against the Frost Giants.

What better way to do that then to destroy their entire world through the Bifröst.

Loki was hanging over the edge of the destroyed Bifröst, barely keeping hold of Thor’s arm. Odin stood over the two, keeping Thor grounded and stopping him from falling with his brother into the abyss below. 

One look at Odin, “Loki… no.” One final time to see the disappointment directed at him, the disapproval in his eyes and the shake of his head… Loki couldn’t hold on any longer.

He let go and allowed the abyss to swallow him whole. /I wonder where the darkness will take me. /

Loki felt like he was falling for an eternity. His mind fell into the chaos of the last few days that he spent on Asgard, going over everything until he felt like he would snap. He was a prisoner of his mind, and the darkness surrounding him.

When the pain hit and he registered voices, Loki wasn’t sure what to expect. All he did know was that his fall through the darkness was finally over. 

Or so he thought. 

In actuality the fall had been a nice summer’s day compared to the torture, pain, and fear that was his companion now.

Thanos, Loki came to realize, was not going to stop until he got what he wanted. And that was for Loki to be his pawn in a game of chess to take over all the realms.

If it wasn’t for Thanos’ other prisoner, a strange silent man named Steve, Loki was sure he would’ve lost his will and succumb to the torture Thanos was inflicting upon his body and mind. 

In the two years that Loki was a prisoner of Thanos, as the God tried to break Loki’s will, and mold him into his pawn, Loki and Steve formed a bond of shared experiences, mutual hate, similar histories, and strategic minds. Together they formed a plan that would allow for both of them to escape back to Earth, where Steve was from, and consequently where Thanos wanted to conquer first in his quest for the nine realms.

When the pair were sure that Thanos and the Other believed that they had broken Loki to their side, and made him into an ally for their cause, they made their move. Loki felt the touch of the scepter to his chest, felt the power swell over his heart and hoped he would be able to keep some control over himself in the upcoming days.

Without a backwards glance, he used the Tesseract to open a portal to Earth and began to enact the plan that would hopefully make the people of Earth realize how dire the situation within the universe really was. And how they needed to be much better prepared for what lay ahead.

End Chapter 1


	2. The Avengers… another Rewrite?

## Chapter 2: The Avengers… another Rewrite?

The Plan, thought Loki, was relatively simple. It was a matter of holding off the power of the scepter enough that he could keep some of his mind from being influenced by its power.

Step 1. Open the portal to Earth.

Loki staggered when he landed on the pad, not realizing how much energy it would take, even with the added power of the scepter.

The humans were talking to him, one of them probably even the leader of this little group. /Oh, the webs of lies and deceit. If only they knew how chaotic their organization really was. /

Step 2. Chaos and minions.

When Loki was sure he could move around without passing out, which was much quicker than he originally thought it would be, he moved. / I need one to unite them… ah. Perfect. /

He changed Barton and a bunch of other “Shield” Agents over to his cause. He also got Selvig. Those two should be able to help move the plan along. “Get the cube.”

Step 3. Escape to the underground bunker.

Loki contemplated turning the female who pursued them as well. But at the last second decided against it. / They will need strong-minded people to help them in their fight. /

As they made their way to the bunker Steve had told them about Loki contemplated the next few steps of their plan. And the chaos that was to come.

“How exciting.” Loki smiled to hide his grimace of pain. 

Step 4. Chaos, distractions, and assessments.

It was almost too easy. Show his face, get the eye, and cause more chaos. The agents sent were not ready. Loki smiled amusedly at the man taking on the mantle of Captain America. He baited him, to see what he would do. The metal arm hurt when he hit with it, but Loki was a master of deception. He merely threw the man wearing a flag for a uniform across the courtyard.

It wasn’t until the man in the suit showed up blasting strange music that Loki surrendered. The agents were finally starting to come together. Now, he wondered about the last member of their little group. Perhaps he was already at their base of operation? Loki could be patient.

Loki sat in the jet rather quietly. The pair of agents sent to collect him were talking- no arguing with each other about him. Loki couldn’t resist adding his own two cents in.

“Come now Captain. Surely, you’ve never wanted to be a king? Not even of your home city?” Loki’s eyes had a gleam of amused mischief in them that the agents took for something else.

Before Barnes could respond, Lightning struck outside. Loki knew that sound from anywhere, all amusement gone from his eyes.

Thor. Loki’s anger at Odin returned full force at the sight of the man he once called brother. /Of course. I should have known Odin would send him to collect me. /

Loki sat on the rock, taking a moment to gather his energy and assess the agents below him. It would be so easy to escape right now. He knew because the three of them were quarreling like children on a playground, each trying to assert their dominance over the others.

/They are not ready. / Loki made some slight changes to the plan. If the agents couldn’t come together like they needed to, then all of Loki and Steve’s effort would be for naught. 

/Barton was not enough. Perhaps the scepter will work. / When the Captain finally got Thor and the man called Stark settled down Loki sat up straighter. Time to continue with the plan.

The man with the monster inside was indeed on the flying ship. The scepter was causing problems, but the anger was not bringing them together.

It was tearing them apart. Loki continued to drop hints, but the agents were missing them. 

/ Barton was not enough. I need the common link. But who? /

The answer came when he was arguing with Thor. Loki knew this man, Coulson, would be the one to bring them all together. Unite the agents to their cause in a way that taking Barton just couldn’t.

After he stabbed Coulson with the scepter, Loki put a stasis charm on him to keep him alive long enough for the medics to save him, even if he looked like he was dead. He then used a charm that was anchored to Barton. It would give the archer a nudge, something he could say was residue exposure to the scepter but would make him aware of Coulson’s frozen state. 

Coulson also seemed to understand the importance of his sacrifice. He made the man, Fury, understand what needed to be done.

Step 5. Open the Portal and keep the agents distracted.

Selvig got the portal open, like Loki knew he would. Once the power source began running, the portal would stay open on its own, of that Loki was sure. Until Selvig got back in control of his own brain and figured out how to turn the portal off. /Come on Steve. This is your only chance. / 

Loki argued with Tony, and threw him out the window, knowing the wristbands he had put on would engage a suit to pick him up before he fell to his death. 

The God of Chaos then argued with Thor. He could’ve stabbed him in a more dangerous spot- done something that would cause more lasting damage, but that was not the goal. He needed to make it look like he was trying to kill Thor, but at the same time keep him stable enough to fight. 

Loki was very careful to keep his attention away from the portal itself, and on what the newly christened Avengers were doing. At first Loki was worried they wouldn’t pull it together, but after the arrival of the Hulk, Barnes began to take charge and lay out a plan of attack. 

Loki finally sent a message to The Other, “Send the rest.” But again, kept his eyes away from the portal. 

The Avengers were a formidable opponent, when they were working together. Loki saw the leadership in Barnes that Steve had described, and he saw the way they all used their individual skills to work as one, helping each other when the need arose, and knowing when to move onto something else.

Loki commandeered a hoverboard from a couple of the Chitauri and used it to oversee the battle. / Odd… This is not running with the full gambit of its maneuvering capabilities… /

A small smile slid over Loki’s face when he realized why the boards were moving with such a slow reaction time and had bad maneuverability. /Great work Steve. I’m impressed that you were able to do that. /

Loki took a moment to pursue the Widow on his own hoverboard, which led to him catching an arrow from Barton. That ended up exploding in his face.

The God landed on the flight deck of Start Tower only to realize the Hulk was coming right at him. Frustration was warring with the scepter’s control over Loki as the Hulk came at him. Frustration won out as Loki started yelling at the Hulk, who cut him off mid sentence and grabbed his lower leg. Hulk beat Loki against the floor and walls of Stark Tower, effectively jarring the God out of the scepter’s hold over him. Loki lay in the hole as Hulk left, his “puny god” comment helping Loki fight the enormous pain shooting through his body. 

With the scepter’s hold completely gone, Loki felt completely drained. Moving was out of the question at the moment but defiance and determination motivated him to push through everything.

It took time, but Loki was able to drag himself out of the crater. Enough time passed that Loki knew the battle was over. He could hear the cries of pain as the Chitauri collapsed as their ship in space was destroyed, and glad that the Widow was able to close the portal using the scepter. He could only hope that Steve was able to make it through in all the chaos he had created. 

As Loki crawled to the steps, he kept his eyes and the majority of his injuries under a glamour. Let’s see if Thor will notice, though I doubt he will. The God of Thunder had never been the most observant when it came to Loki. Hurt stabbed at Loki’s heart for a moment but he pushed it aside. His job was not done yet. Loki felt the presence of the Avengers behind him, all aiming weapons at his form. 

“If it’s all the same to you, I’ll have that drink now.” Water. Water would be perfect. He needed something to start the healing process for his body. The Avengers were not inclined to give him anything though, so Loki had to rely on his magic to keep his body moving. They put him in restraints and left him in a room in the tower with no windows and weapons aimed at him from all angles. Loki slid down the wall and tried to breathe through his pain. The lack of nourishment meant that his body would take much longer to heal. From where he was there was no way to know if Steve had made it through the portal. Anxiety began working its way into Loki’s heart. He wondered what had happened. Was Steve caught in the explosion Stark sent through the portal? Was he captured by this Shield organization? Was he trying to get to Loki?

Each question left more anxiety and worry into Loki’s mind. He closed his eyes, attempting to get some sleep, or at least calm down so his body would heal some of the more dire injuries plaguing him. 

The next morning Thor came into the room with a small plate of food and water for Loki. Thor set the tray down next to the God of Mischief and looked like he was going to try to talk to him. But Loki picked up the food and began eating before Thor could. Loki didn’t want to hear what lies Odin had been telling Thor about him. Loki knew they had to be lies. Because Loki hadn’t been shielding himself from Heimdall’s sight at all when he was in Thanos’ captivity. He had even harbored thoughts that Thor might try to come rescue him in the beginning of his imprisonment and shared those thoughts with Steve. It had given them a sense of Hope that was later crushed when they realized that no one was coming, and they would need to get out themselves. 

So no, Loki was in no mood to talk to Thor. He remained silent through the day as different people came in, some agents and other times the Avengers, trying to get him to speak.

When they realized that Loki wasn’t going to say anything, Thor came back, this time with the Tesseract in hand. For the first time in his time in this room Loki felt fear at what was about to happen. 

Thor was going to take him back to Asgard.

Thor was going to give him back to Odin for a trail and punishment that would fit all his wrongs. When Odin would already have known about what happened after his fall.

Loki felt his features harden against what Thor was saying. Their plan had failed. Steve was once again lost to Thanos’ control and Loki would be put in another cell, only this time with no one around who would care what happened to him.

For all that Thor had grown up, Loki realized, he was still just a little boy following daddy’s orders. The anger Loki felt towards Odin began bleeding through to Thor as well. For all his talk of being brothers and helping Loki- it was all lies. It was just a way for Thor to sleep at night.

And they called Loki the God of Lies. 

The irony was not lost on Loki.

Said God shrugged off his brother’s hand and used the wall to pull himself up. He would not accept Thor’s help. Not when he knew it was all for show for these new friends of his.

Before leaving the Tower, Thor placed a small muzzle over Loki’s mouth, which would stop him from using his magic. If Loki, or anyone that wasn’t holding Mjolnir tried to take it off, they would be given a strong bolt of electricity. 

As the Avenger’s escorted Thor and Loki to the place where Thor would release the Tesseract’s power and take them back to Asgard, Loki tried to figure out if there were any Shield agents hiding away in the shadows. 

What was odd was that Loki couldn’t make out any life signs except for the ones of the Avengers. Hope started to work its way into his heart again before he crushed it back down with venomous enthusiasm. 

Loki couldn’t bear another disappointment like that. 

However, the seed had been laid and Loki found himself walking slower than was necessarily needed in an attempt to bide more time. As Thor came to a stop in the middle of the street, Loki also stopped. He looked around at the other Avengers- Barnes, Barton and Romanoff standing side by side, but each casing a different direction of the area; trusting in the other two to watch their backs. Tony and Bruce over by the car shaking hands and talking quietly. 

It was when Loki’s eyes began to track back to Thor that he saw the small device fly over towards the trio of assassins. When it hit the ground with barely a sound the three of them were frozen in place. 

Before any of the Avengers even realized what had happened, Thor was being tackled to the ground away from Loki. The God of Thunder was not expecting such a move and, in his surprise, dropped the Tesseract. When Thor hit the ground the man, dressed all in black, stood quickly and dropped another small device at Thor, freezing him in place as well, moving out of range before he got caught in the freeze radius.

The man swept his glaze over all the Avengers, dismissing them when he locked eyes with Loki. Tony was trying to get into the trunk of his convertible to get a suit, but it seemed to be stuck. Bruce was debating with himself as to whether it would be a good idea to Hulk-Out as Tony liked to put it. The trio of assassins could only move their eyes from person to person, the rest of their bodies frozen in place.

When Loki realized who the strange man was, he had done a pretty sloppy job of cutting off as much of his hair as he possibly could and shaving off as much of his beard as he possibly could, the God of Mischief sagged in obvious relief. 

It was Steve. He had made it through the portal.

Steve made a beeline for Loki, a small sad smile on his face as if to apologize for the delayed rescue. Loki’s mouth twitched up, but he realized the move was lost because of the muzzle. 

Steve also noticed the muzzle, his eyes hardening in anger. He moved his arm up to remove it from Loki’s person, but pulled back when he was hit with the electricity. Loki’s eyes moved over to Thor, where he looked at Mjolnir and back at Steve, the look in his eye saying he knew Steve wouldn’t be able to pull the muzzle off.

Tony and Bruce, who were both watching the interaction with no amount of curiosity, couldn’t figure out what was happening. Tony’s cell phone was also not working, so the pair was pretty much useless unless Bruce decided to Hulk-Out. Aside from freezing the members of the team the man felt would pose the biggest threat, he had completely ignored them otherwise. Even Tony’s cursing and running commentary as he tried to get to the suit was ignored completely.

They had never seen this man before and didn’t know who he was or what his purpose was outside of interacting with Loki. And the God of Mischief had never mentioned him in any way from what they could tell. They were also wondering where their Shield back up was. Since it looked like no assistance was forthcoming. 

As the pair were contemplating what to do- Tony had gotten the trunk open, but the suitcase suit was not in the trunk where he distinctly remembered putting it that morning, and the Mark VII was still being repaired and would not be ready for another couple of days, the man walked over to Thor and grabbed Mjolnir, picking it up with two hands.

Stunned silence filled the space, and Loki’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline.

Steve moved quickly back over to Loki and pulled the muzzle off his face, then gestured with the hammer. Loki seemed to know what he meant as he quickly knelt and pulled his hands as far apart as he could. With one swing the hammer cracked the restraints, leaving Loki’s hands free for the first time in almost 24 hours.

Steve turned his attention towards the Tesseract and a look of pure hatred filled his eyes. Loki realized what was happening a moment before Steve lifted the hammer again.

“Steven! No!” Loki grabbed Steve and pulled him away from the Tesseract before he could hit it. The move caused Steve to drop the hammer and he focused back on Loki. He didn’t say anything, but his face said it all and his fingers were moving a mile a minute- tapping on his leg with no foreseeable pattern.

“You can’t. We talked about that.” Loki’s tone brought no argument. The man- Steven- breathed heavily through his nose and looked over at the frozen trio of assassins. He glanced around for a moment before nodding at something unseen and making his way over to the trio. 

First he moved in front of Barton, the pair of them were about the same size, Steve being a hair shorter than the archer. The Avengers finally got a good look at the man who could wield Mjolnir. He was wearing all black, in an outfit that the others had never seen, nor looked like was from Earth. His jacket was long, and the collar came up to the bottom of his chin. There looked to be a scar on his neck poking out over the collar of the turtleneck like shirt he was wearing, and one of his eyes was red, with scarring all around it. 

The man put a piece of paper into Barton’s hand, which was crossed at his chest. He then glanced to the side and using slightly hesitant motions spelled Phil’s name with ASL. Then, looking Barton in the eye mouthed “-ury.” 

The beginning of the word was cut off and he ended it with a flinch, like it was painful for him to try to speak.

He then glanced at Natasha and gave her a slight smile, as if to say thank you before moving on. He moved over to Barnes and his eyes lit up slightly. He also placed a folded piece of paper in Barnes’ hand, a sad apologetic look in his eye. He poked Barnes in the chest twice, over his heart but before he could do or say anything else Loki called out to him. 

“Steven.” Steve turned toward Loki, knowing he was almost out of time. He made his way over to the God of Chaos.

Steven’s eyebrows drew together as he looked over Loki. He reached up with one hand and touched the side of Loki’s eyes at the temple with two fingers, an obvious question.

Loki shook his head but declined to answer verbally. Steven dropped his hand and Loki placed a hand on each of Steve’s arms.

“I thought you hadn’t made it through.” Was the last thing the Avenger’s heard before the pair disappeared with Loki’s magic.

Tony’s startled “Shit!,” was drowned out by the four frozen Avenger’s who could now move freely falling over, or twisting on the ground in Thor’s case, with startled yelps. (Although if asked later the assassins would deny ever yelping in surprise.)

Natasha grabbed a gun and began a perimeter check. Clint and Barnes clutched the notes in their hands with equal looks of confusion. 

Clint was the first to move, he opened the paper to find the word _**TAHITI**_ written across the whole paper. The archer’s confusion was doubled as Natasha looked over his shoulder, and Tony demanded to know what the paper said. 

“Was he a threat? What just happened here?” Tony’s mouth was moving a mile a minute.

“Thor,” Bruce’s voice broke through Tony’s ranting, “Do you know who that was?”

The God of Thunder was staring down at Mjolnir, a strange look on his face. “No, I have no knowledge of who that man is.”

The tone of Thor’s voice was laced with confusion, wonder and amazement. 

“James.” Natasha’s sharp voice broke through the other Avengers, who all looked over at their Captain. He wasn’t breathing. Just staring at the paper in his hand in a trance like state.

“Hey, RoboCap,” Tony walked right over to Barnes, and grabbed for the paper, “What does YOUR little note say? Huh?”

Tony’s move to grab the paper seemed to break through to Barnes and he pulled away before Tony could get it. He moved backwards into Clint, who was trying to get his cell phone to work. Barnes didn’t even apologize to his fellow sniper; he was so shocked.

“Impossible…” He muttered, still not unfolding the paper, but clearing having trouble believing what he was holding.

“What is it James?” Bruce’s calm voice seemed to be working better than Tony’s ranting at getting a response from the Captain, “What’s impossible.”

“It was Steve.” The statement was said with wonder, something that the others hadn’t heard from the ex-Soviet, ever, in the time they’d known him.

“Yeah,” said Clint, his own note clutched in his hands, “That’s what Loki called him. Steven.”

James shook his head, “No… He…” and with trembling fingers opened the folded paper. His breath caught in his chest and he made a noise like he was in pain. Natasha quickly looked over his shoulder to see what the paper said. Her eyes drew together in confusion, not understanding why James was so upset over the picture.

In his hand was a picture of a monkey in the Captain America uniform- but it looked a little different from the one James had worn yesterday. The monkey was riding a unicycle on a tightrope and holding an umbrella, a sad look on his face with small wavy mountains below him and dark shadows on either side of the rope. There were trees in the background.

The noise James was making was getting slightly louder and he was starting to hyperventilate, so Natasha grabbed the paper out of his fingers and pulled him into a semi-hug. She began muttering to him in Russian, trying to get him to calm down. 

She handed the note to Bruce, who looked at it with the same confusion Natasha had, before Tony pulled it out of his hand and he and Clint both looked at it.

For some reason the picture seemed familiar to Tony, but he could not for the life of him recall why.

Thor’s voice broke through to everyone, “Perhaps we should get the Captain somewhere that he can calm down and out of the public eye.” The Avenger’s all glanced at each other, having a silent conversation before nodding as one. 

“To the Tower it is!” Said Tony, as he and Bruce moved to get into the convertible. Clint grabbed the keys for James’ motorcycle and Natasha led her friend over to Clint’s black car. Thor picked up Mjolnir and the Tesseract, swinging the hammer around and jumping into the air. 

Within a few minutes the Avengers were back at the Tower and Tony began to take control. 

“Right. Let’s avoid the Penthouse for right now. Jarvis, take us up to 33, and let Thor know that’s where we will be, and ask Pepper to steer clear of the area until I give her the all clear.” Jarvis gave an acknowledgement of the command and began moving the private elevator up to Tony’s gym. The engineer had a feeling that Barnes might be hitting things soon, and it would be better to do that where things were meant to be hit.

As they all piled out of the elevator, Thor came from another one after dropping his hammer and the Tesseract in a secure safe that Jarvis directed him to. They all made it into the gym, and everyone began asking James questions all at once.

The ex-assassin covered his ears, yelling, “Quiet!!!” and some muttered Russian curses.

Silence fell over his teammates. James took a deep breath, to steady himself and began his explanation.

“You all know that I’m not the original Captain America. I was his second in command, but because of Zola, when he captured our unit at Azzano, I got a bastard version of the serum. Steve…” James broke off with a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“Take your time,” said Natasha. She knew this would be hard for her friend. 

“Steve was doing the USO Tour. He got to Italy to do the show for the troops and was met with harassment and anger. Then within the hour, he finds out about my unit being captured. Going against orders, he got Howard and Peggy to fly him into enemy territory to get me out. Or find my body to bury back home.”

Tony made a noise of displeasure about hearing about Howard, but Bruce elbowed him to keep him from saying anything. Barnes didn’t even glance his way, just kept talking in a monotone voice that he hadn’t used in over a decade since breaking away from his Russian Captors.

“When we made it back to camp Steve was hailed as a hero for single handedly rescuing so many soldiers and destroying the base. He made the Team- The Howling Commandos- after recommendations from me on who might be willing to work with us. I chose guys who were ornery just like Steve, and me even though they were captured and facing death. With the group, we ended up taking out almost all of Hydra’s strongholds.” He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself again.

The human members of the team were all aware of the story James was telling. It was only Thor, who had not been on Earth at the time that did not know what happened to the original Captain.

“Schmidt was getting desperate the longer we were around because we kept messing up his plans. So, he sent Zola ahead on a train, hoping to catch us off guard. But it didn’t work. We ended up taking the train, but not before I fell to my supposed death in front of Steve’s eyes.” James took another deep breath and turned away from the group, that memory had been the hardest for him to come to terms with- the look on Steve’s face as he was falling was seared into his memories all over again.

Tony, in a moment of apathy, took over the story for Barnes, “Aunt Peggy said that Steve wasn’t the same after that mission. He was so angry and reckless in the plan he made to take out Schmidt. They stormed Schmidt’s home base in the Alps, and while Schmidt tried to get away in the Valkyrie, Rogers followed him. That was the last anyone had heard from either super soldier. It was assumed that Steve and Schmidt were killed in the plane as it hit the ice.”

“But when Shield found the plane’s remains,” Clint spoke up as well, “there were no bodies on board. Just Cap’s shield lodged between the pilot seat and throttle, and a hole in the floor from where the Tesseract must’ve un-lodged itself and melted through the metal.”

“To die in battle is the best way for a warrior to go. The original Captain’s sacrifice was not in vain if he died saving the lives of the people of Earth.” Said Thor.

“Steve Rogers was supposed to be over six-foot-tall, with broad shoulders, and muscles built like a fortress. This guy however was barely five foot eight, and the white of his one eye was blood red. Also, no one is really sure what happened on the plane.” Bruce’s contemplation came after Barton finished telling his portion of the story.

“James,” said Natasha, “Why was the picture of the monkey so important to you?”

“Steve drew a similar picture in Italy when he finished the performance for the 107th. Peggy was the one who saw him doodling it and got to talking with him about the captured unit.” Barnes turned back towards the others, collected again, but still using the monotone voice from his earlier story telling.

“So, the original Captain America is now working with Loki?” Clint said, just as Tony said, “Captain America was supposed to stand against evil. Why would he be working with Reindeer Games in the first place?”

James began defending the Steve Rogers that he knew against what the others were saying and the five of them began arguing- each talking at the same time. It was like the Heli-carrier all over again, only this time without the influence of Loki’s scepter.

“Perhaps,” Thor’s voice boomed over the noise, “the best way to get the answers that we seek, we must first find Loki and his companion. He can then shed light on the questions you all have regarding the note Captain Barnes was left.” Thor’s voice of reason got everyone else thinking.

“But where would they go? We could use the tracking algorithm we used last time to find Loki, but what if they are hiding somewhere and shielding themselves from the signal?” Tony and Bruce began talking quickly about different ways to track the missing pair. The duo began making their way to the labs to figure out the best course of tracking.

“Sirs, and ma’am,” Jarvis’ voice came over the speakers in the gym, “Mr. Stark is inviting all of you to stay the night as Sir and Mr. Banner contemplate where the pair of “Run-A-Ways,” have gone. If you come to the elevator, I will get you situated in some guest suites right away.

“Actually,” Clint broke in, “I am going to talk to Fury. See if he can shed some light on this TAHITI thing. It’s got something to do with Phil from what our mystery friend said and I need to find out what,” the guilt over Phil’s death coloring his tone in spades.

Natasha looked torn between going with Clint and staying with James. James, noticing the hesitation nodded after Barton. Barnes knew he wouldn’t be good company tonight and Clint would need back up in dealing with whatever Fury wanted to spout at them. They had a quick conversation with their eyes before Natasha nodded and joined Clint in the elevator. As the doors closed the pair’s heads were bent together in contemplation of their next play.

James turned toward the other elevator after grabbing the picture Tony had dropped earlier without realizing it, Thor falling into step with him. “Friend James,” said assassin glanced at Thor to show he was listening as the pair walked, “If this is truly the friend you have lost, then he must have a good reason to be working with Loki at this time. The mystery behind your friend’s disappearance is missing many pieces. But we must also tread carefully. Many of Loki’s tricks have multiple levels of shadow behind them and what you think might be the truth is actually a cleverly crafted illusion.”

James nodded once in acknowledgement of Thor’s words, but did not speak for the rest of the night and well into the morning. The picture was held tightly in his hand as he lay in the bed Jarvis showed him to, but sleep was not an easy thing to come by for the ex-assassin.

The next morning came much faster than any of the Avengers in the tower were ready for. The four teammates, Clint and Natasha still off who knew where, sat around a dining room table each hoarding a cup of coffee (or tea in Bruce’s case), and picking at the pancakes laid out before them. 

Tony and Bruce had stayed up all night trying to figure out where Loki and the mystery man would’ve gone, but to no avail. They had tracked around the globe using different search parameters, and methods but to no use. Before Natasha and Clint left yesterday, the Russian spy stopped by the lab and asked for the information Tony had extracted from Shield on the Heli-carrier. The pair wanted to see if there was anything about this TAHITI thing in the files Tony had found. Tony handed her a StarkPhone, which linked directly to Jarvis’ mainframe, as well as a password to access all the files from Shield with Jarvis’ assistance. It had been a little over twelve hours, but no one at the tower had heard from the pair yet at all.

If anything happened to the pair, Jarvis would alert the others immediately, but as of yet there was nothing.

Barnes had the drawing laid out in front of him and was looking at it like it contained the secrets of the universe. 

Without warning Barnes shot up from his seat, “Fucking Son of a Bitch!!” He held the drawing in one hand and turned his attention to the others who were all startled by the sudden outburst, “I know where they are! Steve… he left this as a clue! That sneaky Punk!”

James turned like a man on a mission and almost made it to the elevator by the time the other’s shouts to “hold up!” and “Wait just a damn second!” reached his ears.

Tony’s having Jarvis lock the elevator definitely got the ex-assassin’s attention. He turned with a weighted glare that the others were actually slightly afraid of. “Look Barnes, you can’t just go running off because you think you know where they are all by yourself! What if this is some kind of trap! What if Loki wants to use his Glow-Stick-Of-Death on you and is using the mystery behind the original Captain as bait!!”

With everything that Tony was saying, James’ glare got darker and darker. 

“Look,” said Bruce, “We’re not saying you shouldn’t go after them. But you should wait until we have a look at the area again through the scans. Also, we should all go as a team, in case this IS some kind of trap. Maybe even wait for Natasha and Clint to get back.”

James muttered a few words in Russian, but he toned his glare back a little and took a deep breath. “We will do the scans, and Tony can finish the repairs to his suit. But we can’t wait for Natasha and Clint. We don’t know how long they will be on their mission. And I need-“

He cut himself off before he could finish the sentence, but the others got the message loud and clear. Barnes needed to know if this was really his friend.

“Jarvis, what’s the eta on the Mark VII repairs?” Tony said quietly into the silence following Barnes half sentence.

“Sir, the Mark VII will be ready to go by nightfall, if the repairs are done at top speed.” Jarvis’ British voice came from the speakers.

“Get on that J. See? We can leave then. Now. Where do you think Reindeer Games and Mystery Man are?” Tony’s voice wasn’t mocking for once.

“Italy. The area where the camp where Steve found out that I was possibly KIA and planned to come rescue me.” James was staring down at the picture as he spoke. He just KNEW that was where they would be. He rattled off the exact coordinates, while Bruce and Jarvis brought up the map of the area. 

“Fear not Shield Brother,” spoke Thor, “If this truly is your friend, then he will wait for you at this spot if that is what his picture meant.”

The unspoken, was he waiting as a friend or foe?, hung in the air like a lead balloon. 

While the Avengers waited for either news from the Spy Pair, or the repairs to finish with Tony’s latest suit, the tension in the rooms they were in was growing by the minute. James was prowling around like a caged animal, which was not helping Bruce keep a lid on his Green Problems. Tony was talking non-stop; an effect of James’ prowling and Thor was growing tense as well, wondering how the meeting with his brother would go this time. 

“Enough!” Bruce’s voice shot through the tension like a knife, his eyes glowing a faint green, “Barnes, go to the gym and don’t come back until either Jarvis tells you we are ready to leave, or you cool the hell down. Tony, go help with the repairs to your suit. Thor, you might as well go to the gym as well. Jarvis and I will continue the search of the area, but unless you want Big Green coming out in the next hour, then I suggest you all relocate. Now.”

The other three scattered like the hounds of Hell were on their heels, each leaving the room for their designated area and giving Bruce a moment to calm down. When Bruce thought he could work without losing his cool he turned back to the computer he was using to search the area in question.

As night fell the scattered Avengers returned to the flight deck, all eager to begin this journey. Tony had the Mark VII loaded into the back of the quinjet, while Bruce went over his findings with the others. From what he could see with multiple searches of the area, using different parameters each time, the mystery pair was not in the area at all.

“The area looks like some kind of reenactment picnic/camping site. There are 1944 reminiscent tents all over the place, like they turned the 107th base into a family friendly campsite, each tent housing a different family. From what I gathered, there was no sign of either of these guys here at all.” Bruce’s skepticism was evident in his voice.

“We are still going.” Said Barnes. His tone held no room for argument. The quad of hero’s finished loading into the jet and began their journey. Because it was a Stark modified quinjet, they managed to knock about two hours off their flight. The morning sun was barely coming over the horizon when they finally landed outside the campsite, on the main road.

Barnes was the first to leave the quinjet, followed closely by Thor. He had begun his pacing again, in an ill-fitted attempt to get the jet to fly faster than it already was. But James knew, just from a quick sweep of the campsite that his initial thought was wrong. 

Loki and Steve were not here. There were two many civilians around who could somehow ID them. James did one more sweep of the site, memories from the 1940’s flowing through his mind, both good and bad. He noticed a small fire, which was now just smoke, and something triggered in his brain. James looked back down at the picture in his hand then at the smoke. A memory from Azzano popped into his head and suddenly he knew the “mountains” at the bottom of the picture weren’t mountains at all. 

They were flames.

Without warning James turned away from the camp and began sprinting at full force into the forest, muttering curses in Russian and English as he went. The other’s cries of “Hey! Wait!” went unanswered.

Bruce and Tony piled back onto the quinjet, while Thor took off after James. With the help of the hammer he was able to catch up to the ex-assassin about two miles into his run. He got a hold of James, halting his progress, “Shield Brother, if you know where they are tell us so we can all go after them together. You are not the only one that needs to see these two in the flesh.”

James stopped fighting Thor and nodded. It would still take him about two days to run to where he wanted to go. Unless he stole a car, but he wasn’t as sure of the surrounding area to say for sure a town would still exist between here and Azzano. “If I tell you guys where they are, we are going straight there. I’m not waiting any longer than I need to.”

Thor nodded to those terms. “If the others disagree, I will fly you there myself.”

The pair studied each other for a moment, before grasping arms and solidifying their deal. Overhead Tony and Bruce opened the back of the quinjet for the pair to return. Using the grasp Thor had on Barnes’ arm, he pulled them both back up and into the jet.

James gave Tony the coordinates for Azzano and waited as the engineer put them into the navigation. Bruce looked like he was going to say something, but the look in James’ eye stopped him.

As the quinjet got closer to the destroyed base, James could see the ruins, but also the original building (in his mind) that he had his first stint as a POW. He navigated Tony to the clearing 300 meters away from the base, where Steve had brought him and the survivors. 

As the group made their way towards the destroyed base, the sun was now starting to rise above the trees. Somehow, James knew this was where Steve and Loki were waiting for them, so he walked as fast as he could without actually running.

The group made it into the clearing with the base’s remains and found Loki sitting propped up against a wall, while Steve lay on his back, one hand behind his head and the other on his chest, fingers tapping away. His eyes were following the path of the sun, like it was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

“Ah,” said Loki, “Look who has finally shown up. Steven said you were on your way, but I was not expecting you so soon.” Both men were relaxed and not very inclined to leave their spots on the floor. That is until Steve heard James call his name.

“Stevie?” The new Captain only had eyes for this man who might potentially be his lost friend. Steve turned his eyes away from the sun’s path and looked over at Barnes. Slowly, to show he was not a threat, he got up from his lounging position and made his way over the James. The same sad smile in place from their meeting a day ago, that now felt like another eternity to Barnes. He stopped less than a foot away from Barnes, his fingers still tapping on his leg a mile a minute. This version of Steve was shorter than James, by a couple inches, but nowhere near how short he was before the serum.

Steve raised an eyebrow at James, giving him a once over. Loki’s voice cut into the moment, “Steven thought you were smaller Captain.”

James made a pained noise and whispered, “I thought you were dead,” the old words the duo had spoken here seventy years ago returning, only reversed in more ways than one. 

Steve gave a silent laugh, with a slight wince, and Barnes pulled him into a strong hug. Steven tentatively put his arms around Barnes’s shoulders and closed his eyes for a moment, relishing the chance to be near his closest friend and brother again. When the pair pulled away both of them were a little misty eyed.

“Loki,” said Thor, “is this really the captain’s friend? Or just another one of your tricks.”

The glare Steve sent to Thor was on par with some of Natasha’s death glares. The silent man moved as if he was going to confront Thor, before Loki could even get a chance to answer his brother.

“Stevie, no! Jesus Fuckin’ Christ, punk!” The words rolled effortlessly out of James’ mouth, giving both super soldiers a moment’s pause. 

Loki snorted in amusement, “Truly Thor, you must think me both Heimdall, and Odin himself all rolled into one. Yes, I created an illusion of the Captain’s dead friend and made it so he would free me from being taken back to Asgard. I also made it so the illusion could not speak at all, so as to not give away my deceitful plan. However did you figure it out, Son of Odin?” The emphasis Loki put on Odin’s name was not lost on anyone else in the clearing.

“You’ve gotta admit Thor, that does seem a little far reaching, even for Shakespeare in the Park over there.” Tony spoke up for the first time, now that he seemed to be on slightly more solid footing.

Steve took that moment to grab the paper he had originally given James out of said super soldier’s hand. He mimicked holding a pencil and looked over at Loki. Loki rolled his eyes but sighed and waved his hand anyway; making the pen that was in Banner’s pocket (he had forgotten it was even there), appear in Steve’s hand a moment later. Tony and Thor both brought up their weapons and trained them on Loki the moment he moved his hand.

Steve saw their move and took several steps back to stand between Loki and the weapon’s trained on him. James was not about to have his friend shot though, “Guys, stand down. That’s an order.”

“Not a chance, Cap- possibly not Cap. I’m feeling a little threatened by Harry Potter over there, and I want to be ready if I need to defend myself. Don’t wanna get stabbed in the back after all.” Thor and Bruce both nodding along in agreement with Tony’s words. 

Steve drew his eyebrows together and knelt down, still shielding Loki from the weapons pointed at them. He began drawing a small picture on half the page while James continued to argue with his teammates about not shooting anyone.

“We should ask them how they know each other.” Said James.

“You heard Reindeer Games over there, the man can’t, or won’t speak! How are we going to get an answer out of him?” Tony argued back.

“Why can’t Loki just answer the questions then?”

“Do we know if he will be truthful? I mean he is the God of Lies…”

“Well how else do you propose to get an answer from them?”

“Yes, there is no guarantee that what Loki speaks will be the truth.”

“Can’t ‘Steven’ just write his answers down?” 

“We could do yes and no questions?”

“We would be here for hours! And I do not want to be spending a moment in the creepy Hydra ruins longer than is necessary!”

The four of them went around in circles with their argument. Loki and Steve shared a look and an eye roll at “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.”

When Steve was done drawing, he shoved the paper into Barnes’ face, stopping him from arguing any more. It was a crude picture of the six of them. The Avengers were pointing question marks at Loki, who was answering with empty speech bubbles, then Steve with a thumb up/ thumb down next to him.

James remembered the little comics Steve used to write the paper and got the gist of what Steve was saying. He relayed the message to the others, who thought it over a moment and finally agreed.

Tony, being who he was, was the first to question Loki, “How do you know Cap’s friend?”

Loki didn’t even hesitate to answer. “I met him when I crash landed after falling off the Bifröst and into the hands of Thanos.” The quartet turned toward Steve almost as one, to see him nod his agreement with Loki’s answer.

“What was Steven doing there?” Thor asked next.

“He was a prisoner. Like myself,” was the quiet reply. Again Steve nodded with pain in his eyes at some memory. His eyes turned hard, and he glared at Thor for a moment, before turning back towards Loki.

“Why doesn’t Steve speak for himself?” Bruce’s medical background was influencing his thoughts. He was contemplating asking about the shrinking but gathered there would be time for that later. Barnes didn’t look like he was leaving this clearing without Steve, and Steve, for whatever reason wouldn’t leave Loki behind.

Loki hesitated a moment and shared a look with Steve. They seemed to be having almost a telepathic conversation that lasted over a minute. Finally, Loki said, eyes not leaving Steve, “being on the receiving end of torture for such a prolonged period of time leaves its marks.”

The four heroes were not expecting that answer; they all took a shocked breath in at the same time. If the question wasn’t so upsetting the God of Chaos might’ve found their reaction a little more amusing, considering how they had been bickering not five minutes before.

Steve winced and nodded to collaborate the answer but took a step back as James stepped towards him again. The ex-assassin froze, wanting so badly to hug his friend again but knowing it wasn’t welcome right now. Steve’s hands were tapping against his leg faster than before, but other than that he didn’t move a muscle.

Loki’s last answer opened a whole can of questions, but Barnes only had one thing he wanted to know, “How did you end up a prisoner in Space Stevie?”

Steve’s eyes hardened again as Loki answered with simply, “The Tesseract.” 

This time, his nod was sharp and to the point, anger in every inch of his body language.

“If we promise to not send you to Asgard just yet,” Tony began his question carefully, “will the two of you come with us back to the Tower?” This ruined base was seriously starting to creep him out and he wasn’t quite sure why. The sooner they all relocated to somewhere that Bruce could check Steve over to confirm this seventy years of torture story, and they could get away from here would be grand- even if it meant holding Reindeer Games at the Tower again for a few days.

Loki and Steve shared another look before Loki said, “How long would we stay with you?”

“Depends on you Gandolf. Are you going to cooperate and continue to answer our questions? Or are you going to get power hungry again and try to take over the city. Cause if it’s the second one, I will just knock you both out and let Thor cart your ass back to Asgard.” Was Tony’s blunt reply. 

Loki and Steve shared another look, this one more amused than anything from the looks of their matching grins, “Hmm… King of New York? Sounds rather boring actually.”

Three of the four Heroes felt like they were missing something, but James’ eyes narrowed in understanding. He hadn’t gotten the reference the first time Loki had said it, but now with Steve standing right there the memory came back full force. The pair of them used to play that game with James’ sisters when Steve was too sick to go out in the winter. They would take turns being “King” and ordering their “subjects” around. James’ sisters weren’t too fond of the game and he had gotten a tanning once because he talked back to his mother while they were still in the middle of playing the game.

Steve also seemed to remember the game; if the look he was giving James was any indication. James growled good naturedly at Steve, “You little punk!”

He reached an arm up, like old times, to put Steve into a headlock and mess up his hair- the move coming from his muscle memory. He was not expecting the panicked intake of air, or his arm being twisted up behind his back the minute it landed around Steve’s shoulders, or one of his own knives being pressed against his throat. Steve was pressed up behind him, his arm a solid unmovable force against his neck, and breathing heavily like he was panicking. 

Thor and Tony both turned their weapons over towards Steve at the perceived threat but were unable to get a shot off. Winter Soldier training started to kick in, but James was far enough removed from that to fight it off. There was no way he was going to hurt his friend- especially when JAMES had been the one to startle him.

“Steven,” called Loki, “You don’t want to hurt him. You always told me how close the two of you were.”

“Stevie,” said Bucky carefully, the knife wasn’t digging into his throat but it was close, “hey, ‘msorry okay? I didn’t mean ta startle you.” He raised his metal hand up in a nonthreatening manner.

Steve took one deep breath, held it a moment, and suddenly let go of James, moving back to stand near Loki, the knife still in his hand, but at his side.

“You okay Barnes?” asked Bruce quietly. 

“Yeah, yeah, ‘m fine. Put your weapons down. That was my fault.” James shook out his flesh arm, trying to get feeling back into it and checked his neck to make sure he wasn’t actually bleeding.

“So, we learned that no one puts their hands near Steve’s neck, Thor doesn’t get to take Loki back to Asgard right now, and Loki will continue to answer our questions… back at the tower. Sound good to everyone?” Barnes was trying to draw attention away from Steve’s moment of panic, which seemed to work. The rest of them nodded in hesitant agreement before Loki and Steve put their hands up in the universal sign of surrender. The knife disappeared onto Steve’s person, which didn’t escape anyone’s notice.

The two shared another look and after a moment’s hesitation both of them put their hands out, ready to be handcuffed. A spark of relief fell over Bruce and Tony’s faces, though one was hidden behind the helmet of his suit, at the move. The two were willing to surrender to the Avengers, trusting them enough to not go back on their word just yet.

The six of them moved back to the Quinjet, Loki and Steve both wearing handcuffs similar to the ones Loki had one when Thor was trying to transport him back to Asgard. 

Loki sat in the same seat he had used before, Steve sitting next to him. After a moment’s hesitation, James sat down on Steve’s other side, clearly wanting to reach over, but unsure if the move would be welcome. 

Thor looked like he wanted to do the same thing, on Loki’s other side, but the glare he was getting from said God stopped him. In a moment of wisdom, he chose the seat across from the trio instead.

Bruce and Tony both went to the cockpit. The duo was talking quietly to each other, no doubt trying to figure out what to do with their new guests when they reached the Tower. 

After a small nudge from Loki, Steve carefully put his hand around James’ right wrist, fingers brushing carefully over his pulse point. James took in a sharp breath, but made no other move, except to curl the fingers of that hand down a little to brush against Steve’s hand also.

## End Chapter 2


	3. Moving Forward… with More Rewrites.

Clint and Natasha made their way through the New York Shield Headquarters ignoring the looks and whispers coming from the lower level agents. The glare on Natasha’s face was more than enough to ward off anyone interested in trying to speak with them. 

The pair got into the elevator, hitting the code to get to Fury’s office on the top floors and waiting in silence as the elevator moved through the building. Fury had an office in each building belonging to Shield, although some were used more than others. There was a chance that Fury wouldn’t be at this location, but after what happened earlier that day, there was a pretty good chance he would still be in the area. 

Besides, the Heli-carrier was still under repair from Loki’s “rescue.”

Sure enough, when the elevator dinged and opened to Fury’s office, he could be heard speaking with the counsel on their private line. The pair waited back by the elevator’s close enough to listen in, but far enough away that the counsel wouldn’t realize they were there.

“-they are dangerous.” Came the voice of one of the council members.

“They surely are. And the whole world knows it. Every world knows it.” Came Fury’s steady reply.

“Was that the point of all this? A statement?” Came from another council member.

“A promise,” he confirmed. “The world needs Heroes. Now everyone knows there are some willing to take up the fight for them.”

“You are starting to overstep your authority-“

Fury cut them off, “I’m not the one that authorized a nuclear deterrent against a threat that was under control. Perhaps you should remember that the next time you think I’m overstepping. Maybe the President would like to have a look at our last conversation. Let him make the decision since we can’t seem to agree.”

With that he cut off the videoconference and moved back into the main portion of this office not even glancing at the spy pair near the elevators. “Can either of you tell me why Loki and Thor are not off this planet and why the Shield Agents I sent to cover their departure are either dead or close to it?”

He sat down in his office chair, leaning back and waiting for their response. Barton was the first to say anything as he walked over to the desk. “Perhaps you can enlighten us to what this TAHITI thing is.”

The slight widening of his good eye, that Fury wasn’t quite able to hide, was the only indication that Clint knew Fury was involved with this.

“Tahiti is a magical place. Or so I’ve been told. Why? Looking for a vacation spot? Somewhere to get your head back on straight?” It was a low blow, but Clint was expecting it and didn’t react.

“Where’s Phil.” Came Natasha’s voice as she moved over next to her partner.

“He’s dead. You know that already.” Came the quick reply.

“Then where’s his body. I’d like to see it. Pay my respects, all that jazz.” Clint wasn’t playing around here. He knew this was important and he knew Fury knew what was going on.

“How about an exchange of information.” Said Natasha, “you tell us about Phil and this TAHITI thing. Show us the body; let us see for ourselves the truth. Then we tell you what we know about Loki’s little rescue from Asgardian justice. I’m sure that by the time we have everything in order regarding Phil, we will have more information on Loki and his new whereabouts.”

Fury looked between the pair for a moment, knowing this was the only deal they would be willing to make. He had wanted to keep Phil’s recovery a secret, but these two had somehow gotten wind of the project. He wondered how that could’ve happened but put it aside for now. 

He took out his communicator, “Hill. I need to take a little trip. Make sure my private jet is ready in the next ten minutes and have a helicopter meet me on the roof in three.”

Maria’s affirmative response went unnoticed by the trio as Fury beckoned them into the elevator.

“TAHITI,” he began when they got to the roof, not actually agreeing outright to their terms, “Is a project meant to bring back someone from death.”

That was all he said as they all loaded into the helicopter and made their way to Shield’s private airfield. Fury went to the pilot’s and gave them the coordinates for London. He then radioed ahead and would have another helicopter take him to a private Shield medical facility that was keeping Phil’s body in cryo while they worked to fix the damage done by the scepter.

When the trio made it to Phil’s private room, the only ones allowed were the doctor, one nurse, and Fury himself, who nodded his assent to the two assassins being in the room with him. Clint went right over to the tube housing Phil’s body. As soon as his hand touched the glass, he realized that Phil wouldn’t need this TAHITI project. That when the doctors managed to fix the damage, Phil would recover on his own time. It might take a few months, but Phil would pull through.

He told as much to Fury, who gave him such a strong look of disbelief that Clint even started to doubt his own words.

However, the nudge was growing stronger and the feeling of being right won out over his doubt.

“Don’t put him through the TAHITI project.” Natasha, sensing her partner’s conviction over this casually drew her gun, but kept it at her side.

“Why the fuck not Barton? Who are you to say what he needs and doesn’t need? Coulson **died** on the carrier, no thanks to Loki and that fucking scepter. This is a way to bring him back.” Fury noticed the gun and moved into a position where his back was to a wall.

“How about,” began Clint, fighting the urge to flinch against Fury’s hidden accusation, “you just go ahead and fix the wound. JUST the wound. Then see what happens. No harm in that- right? What’s the worst that happens- he stays dead another day or so?”

Fury considered this, “The TAHITI project is experimental. There’s no telling if it would work if we delay longer than it takes for the doctors to repair the scepter’s damage.”

“Then get more doctors in here, working around the clock. **FIX** the damage as fast as humanly possible. But **DON’T** use that program on him.” Clint was getting a little angry but didn’t let that cloud his thoughts. The mystery man’s concern over this, and the unusual cryptic messages meant that something else was going here that Fury didn’t want to admit to. If the other’s managed to find the convicts, Clint would definitely find some time to interaga- have a nice conversation with the man to see what he knew.

Especially if this manages to save Phil’s life.

Fury seemed to see this conviction for himself or must’ve realized that fighting the pair on this was a lost cause. “I will allow one more doctor to be in on this and one more nurse each working twelve-hour shifts. When they finish closing up the wounds you will have a total of ten hours before we go ahead with TAHITI. If you try to fight, I will have your Asses in prison so fast you won’t even know what’s happening. Are we clear?”

“I’m not leaving.” The statement didn’t surprise Fury in the slightest.

“Like I expected otherwise.” Came the dry reply. “Now. Tell me what the fuck happened in Central Park, and why I lied to the Counsel about Loki and Thor being well on their way to Asgard.”

Natasha put her gun away and leaned against the wall, “Thor had Loki in restraints and a special muzzle that would keep him from using his magic. When we arrived at the park the area was completely clear, and none of us were aware that the man in black was waiting for our arrival.

“He somehow managed to freeze, Barton, Barnes and myself with some kind of device, then tackled Thor and froze him as well, before any of us registered his presence.” Natasha paused a moment in her story, expecting questions from Fury but none came.

Clint took over for her but kept one hand on the cryo tube at all times, “The guy was wearing alien clothes, and had a bunch of scars. His hair was chopped off as short as he could get it and the beard, he had looked like he took a knife to it. After subduing Thor, he glanced around and found Loki. He attempted to remove the muzzle, but because he wasn’t Thor, he was shocked. He moved over to where Thor was laying and picked up the hammer,” there was disbelief coloring Clint’s tone at this, “then walked back over and released all of Loki’s restraints. He turned to the Tesseract, like he was going to destroy it, but Loki stopped him.” Clint stopped talking and looked back down at Phil, clearly not happy with relaying the rest of this story.

“He walked over to Clint, placed the paper in his hand with the word TAHITI, used ASL to sign Phil’s name, then mouthed “-ury” at him with a wince of pain. He also handed a paper to Barnes, before Loki called him back over and the pair disappeared. Loki saying something about the man ‘making it through.’”

Fury narrowed his eyes, “Did this man have a name?”

Clint and Natasha shared a look, “Steven. James thinks it was his friend- the original Captain America.”

Stunned silence was all Fury could manage for a few minutes before, “The same Captain Fucking America who mysteriously disappeared off the Valkyrie in 1944?!?”

The assassin pair nodded.

“What the ever-fucking hell is going the fuck on?!” Fury’s reaction seemed to be on point with everyone else’s. Only with more cursing.

Clint and Natasha shared a look while the director of Shield took a moment to rant and pace the room.

“So where is he now. I’m assuming the rest of you assholes are off looking for them?” Fury seemed to be calming down some and thinking straight again.

Natasha pulled out the StarkPhone, “Jarvis what’s the situation back at the tower?”

“Sir and Mr. Banner are running search grids for Loki and his companion. So far they have not had any success. Mr. Barnes and Mr. Odinson are both laying in beds in guest quarters of the Tower, but my sensor’s show neither of them are actually sleeping.” Came Jarvis’ quick reply.

Natasha closed the phone, putting it back into her suite. “How about we get another doctor vetted so we can get Phil fixed up as soon as possible.”

Fury knew a deflect when he saw it, but let it go. If the pair knew more, or if Loki and this guy were in Avenger’s custody then they would’ve told him.

Within the following twenty-four hours, a second doctor and nurse were briefed on the situation. Paperwork was signed, liability’s covered, death threats (from Clint) made, and progress on healing Phil beginning. 

Natasha and Fury stayed with Barton during this time, but when a beep came through on the StarkPhone from Stark, letting the assassins know that Loki and ‘Steve’ were on route back to the Tower the pair took their leave.

Natasha was hesitant to leave Clint with these doctors, but he nodded her along. He could handle this and if he couldn’t Natasha left him the StarkPhone just in case.

Fury and Natasha were back on their way to New York within the hour. Neither one saying much of anything the entire flight and that was just fine with the other.

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To say the ride back in the quinjet was tense for the quad of superheroes and their… guests… was an understatement. The tension was thick enough that a knife could cut through it. James was tempted to take out a knife and actually test the theory, but that would’ve meant A) acknowledging the tension and B) possibly losing his grip on Steve’s hand.

Neither option was viable for the ex-Soviet.

Instead he decided to categorize as much of Steve’s injuries as possible, without actually looking at him directly, or drawing attention to what he was doing. However, he had years of practice with this task when he was younger and the memories flowed through his brain, as he looked his friend over.

The major concern was the fact that Steve seemed to be shrinking. When Steve had rescued the 107th at Azzano, the super-soldier was over six foot tall. Now he was barely 5’8. Steve also seemed extremely pale, but that could’ve been from the lighting on the jet, and he had a hollowness that James didn’t notice before but could see now that he was up close. 

He was also tapping his fingers, on the hand not attached to James’ wrist, against his leg like a mad man, something he had never done before the war.

James chalked it up to some kind of nervous tick brought around from being a prisoner for so long.

The scar on Steve’s neck, or at least what James could see over the top of the strange turtleneck, looked angry- like it never properly healed. /It might explain Steve’s lack of speaking/ thought James suddenly. /Lord knows that Punk was always mouthing off at people… /

James drew in an involuntary breath with the realization of what the scar might mean. His fingers twitching on their own accord moved to cover Steve’s hand, trapping it in a tight grasp around his wrist. His other hand moved to cover the back of Steve’s hand as well.

Steve’s other hand stopped moving for a moment, and his eyebrows drew together, in worry, panic, or question, James couldn’t tell. He glanced at James and attempted to move his hand away from its trapped position, but James couldn’t- or wouldn’t (even he wasn’t sure which) let go of it. His grasp tightening with each tug Steve made. In turn Steve’s tugs were getting slightly more frantic with each failed attempt and his breathing started to get faster.

Loki made a noise, which the others when they were looking at the footage of this later would take to be soothing, and gently moved his hand in a small arch in front of Steve’s eyes.

The trio ignored Thor’s “Loki-”, as the top and sides of the quinjet became translucent. The sun was starting it’s descent into the ocean’s horizon below, but Steve’s eyes became transfixed on it. His breathing evened out and he stopped trying to pull his hand away from James’ now extremely tight grasp. His other hand began tapping again almost unconsciously.

James gave a startled “Fuck!” at the move, looking like he wanted to touch the ceiling to make sure it was actually still there, but also not wanting to let go of his grip.

Thor solved the dilemma for him by standing and putting his hand up. It barely got over his head before there was a clang. He then tapped his knuckles against it for a moment and they all heard the clink of metal on skin, reaffirming that the roof was indeed still there, just hiding. He did the same for his side of the jet as well, with the same result.

James let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and relaxed his grip a little on Steve’s hand. But his friend didn’t seem to notice, eyes still staring at the path of the sun around them.

Loki leaned towards Steve, his hair falling to cover his face a moment. When he pulled back Steve gave a small twitch of his lips, but otherwise didn’t react. Obviously the God had said something, but neither looked like they were going to share with the others.

Tony’s, “You kids all still alive back there? No one is trying to hurt anyone else? Everyone playing nice and all that?” over the loudspeaker got everyone’s attention and an eye roll from James, Thor and Loki.

“Yes Mom!” James patronized back at Stark. Bruce’s chuckle was heard as he turned off the comm and silence again settled over the back of the jet. This time though, the silence wasn’t as tense.

As New York came into view in the cockpit, Tony put Jarvis in charge of the jet and the Science Bro’s made their way to the back to talk to the others about sleeping arrangements.

The heroes had already told their “guests” that they would stay at the Tower, but it was just a matter of where. The Penthouse was still a mess from the fight between Hulk and Loki, but the guest floors were still available. As Tony came into view, Loki waved off the illusion he had created for Steve, something he had done during their time in space on multiple occasions right before one of their captors came to their cell. The look Steve gave him said he knew exactly why Loki did what he did, and he understood. Tony also seemed to see the gesture, which reaffirmed in his own mind what he was about to say.

“Alright. Here’s how I see this. We have two options, since I’m not sure how comfortable we all are with having Gandalf here back at the Tower again, especially since he will be staying for a few days. One, we can put both of these guys in the room we had Loki in before. Two, Loki wears his magic stopping muzzle and they get actual rooms for the night on the same floor James and Thor are using.” The look Steve sent Tony was just a hint on the dark side of murderous, but Tony wasn’t going to back down.

Loki looked back and forth between Tony and Steve for a moment, before they did the creepy telepathy thing again. Loki drew his eyes together and his lips were a very thin line for a moment, then he said, “We will take the room I was in before, thank you.”

He didn’t take his eyes off Steve as he said it, which had the others looking between them in confusion. 

“Does anyone else find this weird telepathy thing a little creepy?” Said Tony.

Bruce and James nodded in affirmation, but Thor looked slightly thoughtful.

Jarvis’ voice came over the speaker, letting them know that they were nearing the Tower and it would be time to land soon, so they should all strap in. Tony and Bruce returned to the cockpit, but other than that no one moved to follow the direction.

Steve and Loki were no longer looking at each other, but Steve was looking around the jet in a way that seemed familiar to James, but he couldn’t figure out why.

When the jet touched down and powered off, James squeezed Steve’s hand briefly before letting go and standing. Thor also stood, while Bruce and Tony came out of the cockpit. Slowly, with a sigh, Steve and Loki stood as well, gesturing for one of the others to lead the way. 

Tony made his way through the jet and went down the ramp, leading the others towards the room where they would leave their guests. James followed behind him, while Steve and Loki were next, followed lastly by Thor and Bruce. As Tony led them through the Tower, he pointed out certain places- like the penthouse where Hulk beat up on Loki, and the common floors. He mentioned the tight security that Jarvis ran and how once they were in their room trying to escape would be a pretty bad idea.

The elevator was a bit crowded, but Tony’s running commentary gave everyone something else to focus on, other than the confined space. Steve however tensed up the moment the doors closed, and not even a look from Loki or James could get him to relax.

As the elevator opened to the floor holding their room Steve became even more tense. His lips pulled into a paper-thin line and his eyes grew slightly distant. The others noticed, but nobody said anything about it (rather Tony was elbowed in the side before he could make a comment, and the others just watched him warily).

The floor in question was mostly for storage. Most of the items were for Science! so the rooms were kept at individual temperatures, with specific lighting requirements. Jarvis monitored all of it. The floor had several rooms, but the one in question was towards the middle, which is why it was chosen for Loki in his original stay there. The Avengers didn’t outright call it a cell, but they all knew that’s what it was. 

Steve’s eyes narrowed the closer he got to the room. When the door opened, he paused right outside of it, not moving in anyway. They all saw the hesitation, but Loki was the only one who said anything. “We can still do the other option.”

Steve looked away from the door, his eyes hardening as he looked at Loki. He shook his head no, then pulled his shoulders back, took a deep breath and walked straight into the room, eyes scanning everything he could see. Loki was a step behind him, both of them moving away from the door slightly, but also looking around for something only they could see.

James was holding his breath as Steve stepped into the room. The move was so Steve that the ex-Soviet could hardly believe it. 

“This room is under surveillance 24/7 by Jarvis. There are also specially built weapons in place, so I would strongly suggest not trying to get out of your room for any reason. We will work out better arrangements for the future, but for now you two can get comfortable here.” Loki knew all of this already, so it was mostly for Steve’s benefit. However, the super soldier didn’t seem to be listening to Tony at all, still studying the room intently.

The four Avengers shared a look before stepping away from the door. “Oh, one last thing. If Harry Potter here makes any move that resembles doing magic the weapons are set to go off. So, I wouldn’t really try anything.” 

Tony’s words got a response out of Steve whose eyes widened as he looked between Tony and Loki. As the door closed the others noticed something that they would later figure out was fear entered into Steve’s entire body- from his eyes to stance.

James looked like he wanted to go in the room right as the door locked, but a hand from both Thor and Bruce stopped him. “We need to be careful here and figure out our next move before we go into that room.”

Bruce’s voice made sense, but James couldn’t shake the feeling that they were missing something important about this whole scenario. As much as he didn’t want to admit it- Steve and Loki had the upper hand here and the others were still just reacting to everything happening with the pair. They needed a plan, some back up plans, and a chance to regroup before doing anything else.

And waiting would also give them a chance to observe the pair to see what they would do.

The logical part of James’ brain knew all this. He understood why they couldn’t just barge in there and get the answers they wanted. But another part- the part that has been mourning the loss of his best friend for **years** wanted to just go in there and keep him in sight no matter what.

“Alright, let's head up to the common floor to figure out our next move here.” Tony gestured towards the elevator again. James didn’t move from his spot. 

“Come on Barnes! Get a move on.” Said Tony. 

James shook his head, “I’m not leaving.” He moved to the wall next to the door and slid down it.

Thor, Tony and Bruce shared a look, trying to figure out if they should argue with their captain over this, or just let it go. Bruce shook his head and nodded at the elevator. Tony looked between Bruce and Barnes. He sighed, took out his StarkPhone and handed it to Barnes. “Jarvis pull up the surveillance for the room and keep the audio open for the commons floor so Barnes can be kept apprised of all we’re discussing.”

The room’s feed immediately filled the small screen and Barnes gave a quiet “Thanks” to Tony before gluing his eyes on the screen. Steve was trailing his fingers along the walls, moving slowly around the room while Loki sat in a corner, much like he did the first time he was in the room.

James noticed that Steve’s hand was still tapping against his leg, sometimes faster than others, his body tense but not overly so. He barely heard the others leave as they got into the elevator, quietly conversing together. “Jarvis, can you change the feed so I can see Steve’s face?”

Jarvis immediately changed the view to another camera that had a clear view of Steve’s front, changing the cameras as he moved through the small room. James just sat; taking in the features of his friend he thought was lost to him forever.

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“So,” said Tony as the elevator door closed, “What are we going to do about this whole situation?”

“Steve at least, needs medical attention,” said Bruce, “I’m not sure about Loki though, it’s hard to tell with his ability to do illusions and hide.”

“Loki has always been able to hide his pains on Asgard, no matter how deep they ran,” said Thor thoughtfully. He had been watching Loki closely, even though his brother wanted nothing to do with him anymore. The answers he had given at the ruins were not adding up with what his Father had said about Loki’s actions leading to the invasion. “He is probably hiding his pain now or using his magic to heal any injuries he does have.”

The three Avengers made their way onto the common floor. “Jarvis, bring up the surveillance on the big screen. One of the cameras where we can see both guests.”

“So definitely medical then,” said Tony as the screen sprang to life. “They will need a better room than that, but I’m not sure I actually trust Loki enough to let him out of there. And I don’t think this Old-Cap is going to go anywhere without his God friend, nor do I think he will let Loki wear something to stop his magic from working.”

“We could ask Loki to swear an Oath, one that will not allow him to harm any residents of the Tower whilst he is staying here.” Thor spoke up, “That way we would be able to trust him with staying in a better room, without fear of magical retaliation.”

“That-“ said Tony taking a moment to think it over “isn’t a bad idea actually. Hey, Bruce, maybe we can hook him up to some monitors beforehand, to see if we can analyze this “magic” of his!”

Tony trailed off on a tangent about what would be needed for such an experiment. 

“Tony, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea right now. Perhaps we can talk to Loki later about letting us observe his magic.” Bruce said with a sigh. The scientist in him wanted to join Tony in his brainstorming, but he also knew that now wasn’t the time for that. Things were still too raw for everyone and experimenting on Loki wasn’t going to make that any better.

“No experimenting Tony,” Came James’ voice over the speaker linked to his comm unit. The no nonsense tone he used stopped Tony mid-sentence. 

“Spoil sport.” He muttered.

“I heard that Stark!” Came the brisk reply. 

Bruce and Thor shared a small smile at Tony’s indignant look.

“Perhaps Loki and Steven would like something to eat.” Said Thor, getting everyone back on track.

“Good idea point break! J, what do we have food wise around here?” Said Tony, taking charge again.

“Sir, I took the liberty of having the frig in the kitchen restocked this morning when it became apparent that you would be coming back with your guests.” Came Jarvis’ quick response.

Bruce went into the kitchen to start getting two trays made up. Mostly just sandwiches since that was the easiest thing to get together on such short notice. He hesitated with what to make for Steve, before deciding on some soup broth and bread. Thor came in, wanting to help, so Bruce set him to heating up the broth while he cut up some bread. He filled two glasses with water and when the soup was heated put it into a large mug on the tray. When everything was in order the pair picked up the trays and made their way to the elevator. Tony came up behind them carrying a tablet and muttering to himself.

When they got to the floor with Steve and Loki, they found James sitting in the same position they had left him, staring at the phone in his hands. Without a word, Tony walked over and traded out the StarkPhone, for the StarkTablet. James looked like he was going to argue for a second but stopped when he held the tablet instead. He gave a slight thank you nod to Tony. 

Tony then turned his attention to the door, putting his phone in his pocket as he did, “Open her up J.”

The door opened to reveal Loki and Steve sitting with their backs to the walls in a corner, Loki was sitting facing the door, his legs out straight. Steve was sitting on the sidewall, his legs tucked up to his chest, feet almost touching Loki’s knee. Loki almost looked like he was in a position of protection, even though his posture was slightly more relaxed than Steve’s was. Steve’s left hand was tapping away on his knee, his posture tense, eyes hard, and mouth set in a thin line. His hand paused a moment when the Avengers entered but began again after a quick sweep of the whole room.

Thor brought his tray over to Loki, while Bruce walked his over to Steve, “We thought you two might be hungry after everything.”

Loki glanced at Steve, who was looking at a far wall, before shaking his head slightly. Loki glanced at the Avengers for a moment, before bringing the tray closer to his body. Much later, Loki would admit that Steve had let him know the food wasn’t drugged, and safe to eat. Steve didn’t move from his spot, just left the tray where it was next to him. He glanced down at it a moment, before glancing at Loki, then the Avengers.

“You gotta eat Stevie,” said James when it looked like Steve wouldn’t touch the food. Loki was slowly working his way through the first of three sandwiches on his tray. The food would help his body heal, but he was savoring the taste just the same. Steve let out a breath then grabbed the water and took a small sip. He raised an eyebrow at James as he put the glass down, and James muttered, “Punk,” at him in response.

Loki finished the first sandwich, then took a sip of his water, “I assume you have more questions?”

The Avengers looked at each other before Bruce spoke, “We didn’t want you to think food would be contingent with you answering questions or us getting something from you,” was his diplomatic response.

Steve brought his head down to his knees, but the Avengers didn’t know it was because he was hiding a smile at their response. Loki wasn’t as diplomatic, “Worse has been done, in the name of getting food. Go on and ask your questions.”

Steve nodded into his knees, bringing his head up again to take another sip of water, his small smile gone, unnoticed by their hosts.

Bruce spoke up before Tony or Thor could voice their questions, “We would like to get you to medical and get an idea of your injuries.” He looked at Steve, “I know you’re supposed to be taller than this, but it seems like that’s not the case. Perhaps we can help the serum heal some of the more difficult wounds you might have?”

Loki’s, “No!” Came out so strongly that the Avengers all startled slightly, “No,” he said again with less force, “We will not be going to medical.”

His tone suggested this wasn’t something they were willing to compromise on at all. Steve also got a hard look in his eyes and shook his head no as well. 

James put a hand on Bruce’s arm when he looked like he wanted to argue with Loki on this and nodded at Steve. His friend’s hands were shaking, closed into strong fists on his knees. His eyes were hard and defiant, but there was a sliver of fear hidden in their depths.

“Perhaps we could do a small check up in your rooms when we have them ready.” Came his reply.

“An actual room for the magical criminal? Surely there must be a catch.” Said Loki not missing a beat.

“We would like you to swear an Oath on your magic that you will not harm any of the members of the Tower with your magic while you are here.” Said Thor gravely.

Loki’s eyes narrowed, “That would depend on your meaning of ‘members of the Tower.’”

Jarvis interrupted anything Thor was going to say, “Sir, it seems Ms. Romanoff, and Director Fury are in the lobby and making their way to the elevator. Which floor should I take them too?”

“Common floor, J. Bruce and I will meet them there in a few minutes.” Came the quick reply. Tony knew James and Thor wouldn’t leave until their guests were at least finished eating.

“Well kids, it’s been fun. Brucie Bear and I will go deal with Pirate King. You guys can meet us up there when you finish here.” Tony pulled Bruce out with him, closing the door behind them.

Thor’s response to Loki’s question was the last thing the pair heard as they left the room, “Any humans who live in the Tower for whatever reason. We don’t want you to use your magic to bring harm to them.” The ‘like you do on Asgard’ was left hanging between them, but both Gods heard it nonetheless. 

“But I could use my magic for other things.” Came Loki’s quick, yet careful reply. 

Thor and James shared a look, the latter not really comfortable with the thought of Loki using any magic in the Tower, but realizing it was probably a lost cause. Magic to Loki was like breathing to everyone else. “No pranks, and no harm,” he amended.

Loki and Steve shared another look before the God said, “I believe I can live with that.” 

## End Chapter 3


	4. Of Friends and Enemies

Tony was fixing a drink at the bar when Fury stormed into the room with Natasha ghosting in behind him. Bruce was sitting on a chair, watching the conversation happening in the holding room.

“Stark!” Said Fury, “Care to explain to me why the God of Lies and that stranger are sitting in a room in your Tower?”

“Well Severus,” said Tony trying to get a rise out of Fury, “We were on our way to taking said God to the drop off point, where Point Break would take him back to his home world for a trail, when we were spectacularly stopped by the stranger who clearly doesn’t know how to use scissors or a razor. With the help of Barnes, we were able to locate the pair and bring them back here for questioning, since we were **not** going to be staying in the creepy ruins where they were ‘hiding.’”

Fury’s good eye twitched, “Why didn’t you bring them straight to Shield for containment?”

“Seeing as how the last time Loki was at a Shield Facility it was almost destroyed, Bruce got angry and everyone generally had their asses handed to them, we thought it might not be the wisest decision.” Came Tony’s quick reply.

Fury was staring at the screen, choosing to ignore Stark’s gabs for right now, “So what do we know so far?”

Bruce answered this time before Tony could make a sarcastic response, “We are almost positive the stranger that ‘rescued’ Loki is actually Captain Steven Grant Rogers, friend of James Barnes and the original Captain America. He somehow ended up a prisoner of Thanos in space because of the Tesseract in 1944 and met Loki when the God crashed on Thanos’ planet, becoming a prisoner himself, after falling off the Bifröst when Thor returned to Asgard because he got control of his hammer again. We’re still hazy on the specifics of that since neither Thor or Loki has mentioned what exactly happened, and Steve apparently can’t or won’t talk.”

“The Fuck?!” Was all Fury could say. Even Natasha had an eyebrow raised in question.

“Aside from a little magic on the quinjet,” said Tony, “that may or may not have been done as an offensive move, both of them have been cooperating extremely well considering the circumstances. I think moving them to a Shield Prison might make that cooperativeness go away in a bad way, and end with a hell of a lot more death and explosions.”

“So you're just gonna keep them here.” Said Fury shortly.

“That’s the plan.” Tony said with a slight playfulness to his tone.

“What about Loki’s magic?” Said Natasha. She didn’t want to be at the Tower if the chance that Loki would be able to harm them with magic. One fight with that was more than enough for her and Clint. Especially after everything the God had done.

“We are trying to get him to swear an Oath to not harm any residents of the Tower.” Said Bruce, “That’s what James and Thor are down there talking about now.”

Natasha still seemed hesitant but masked it quickly. She would talk to Clint and James before making a final decision.

“Turn up the audio Stark, I want to know what the hell is going on down there,” said Fury.

“…would do the Oath now,” came Loki’s voice softly, “but our host seems to have this room on magic lock down. I will not risk mine, nor Steven’s safety for yours.” He seemed to be closing down that line of questioning with his tone.

“Why is Rogers tapping his hand like that?” Asked Fury, noticing what Steve was doing as the others were talking.

“We think it’s a nervous twitch. A response to almost seventy years of torture.” Said Bruce, with a little anger in his voice. The thought of someone having to endure that much for so long was upsetting for the medical man.

On the screen there was a pause as Loki took a sip of his water and moved to grab the third sandwich. Thor’s next statement though stopped his hand in mid-air hairs above the sandwich.

“Loki, our Father said you were allied with Thanos. That you voluntarily choose to lead the invasion against Midgard.”

Loki and Steve both tensed up, the former actually growling at Thor’s question. The look of intense hatred on both their faces spoke volumes for everyone watching them. “That **man** is **not** my **father! How dare you!** ” Loki actually snarled, “Of course HE would say that about the **monster**. Well **brother** ,” Loki spat the word out like it was causing a fire in his mouth to say it, Steve’s hand on his knee looked like the only thing keeping Loki in a seated position, “clearly you have all the information you require. There is no need for us to answer your questions any longer. Get out, we have nothing more to say to you right now.”

The pair of them turned their heads away from James and Thor, clearly not willing to cooperate further.

“Wow.” Said Natasha as they watched James and Thor share a look before James tried to talk to them again. When that failed, they both left the room, “And here I thought Stark had the daddy issues the size of the Grand Canyon.” She turned towards the engineer, “Clearly he has you beat.”

Tony was just watching the screen as Loki held his breath and got his anger under control. The look he and Steve were sharing was hard to decipher, but it looked like panic, or worry, or even fear was in their gazes. They both looked resigned to their fate. He didn’t even respond to Natasha’s gibe at him. Instead he said, “I think they think they might be punished for that little outburst.”

Bruce nodded his agreement, “Perhaps a couple of head doctors would be in order as well.”

“I’ll send some people over from Shield.” Said Fury.

“Not right away,” Said Bruce, “we need them to trust us first and Shield might be the last thing they equate with trust right now.”

“We are missing something. Something vitally important,” said Natasha as she watched the pair on the screen. As she spoke Thor came out of the elevator, a distraught look on his face.

“Hey! Don’t look upset Point Break! Not everyone can wax poetic all the time. There are just some things that will strike a nerve no matter how it’s said.” Said Tony, trying and failing to cheer Thor up a little.

“Thor,” began Natasha, still looking at the screen, “How did your father know that Loki had allied himself with Thanos?”

Thor had given a vague explanation on the Heli-carrier, but Natasha had other things on her mind, like finding Barton and bringing him back. 

“Heimdall, the Keeper of the Bifröst, saw Loki working with Thanos right before he came to Earth. He told Father of Loki’s plans and Father then sent me down to try to help stop him.” Said Thor, starting to piece together a conclusion he didn’t like in the least.

“Is there a way for Loki to hide from Heimdall’s sight?” Asked Bruce, wanting more clarification on Loki’s abilities.

“He has done it in the past, however if that was the case, we wouldn’t have known of their alliance and Father wouldn’t have sent me to Earth to help defend it.” Said Thor, also drawing the same conclusion as the others even as he spoke.

“So, if this Heimdall guy could see what was happening with Loki right before he came to Earth, wouldn’t it also stand to reason he could see what was happening when Loki landed on Thanos’ planet like he said he did?” Said Tony, voicing the conclusion they had all come to.

“That is a strong possibility,” said Thor, a strange feeling growing in his gut.

“You said Loki was adopted,” said Bruce, a strange thought coming to him, “and he called himself a monster just now. What does he mean?”

“Loki was born a Frost Giant on the planet Jotunheim, son of their leader Laufey. Father waged war against the Frost Giants in an attempt to keep them from conquering the nine realms, starting with Earth. When he defeated Laufey and brought an end to their reign, Father found a baby Loki- discarded and left to die in the frozen wastelands, so he brought him home to Asgard. All Asgardian children are brought up on stories of the monstrous Frost Giants, who could freeze you solid with one touch if you were bad, lurking in darkness, waiting to strike out at you, and how our King was able to defeat them. Father used magic to hide Loki’s true form and only he, mother, and Heimdall knew of his true origins, until just after I was sent to New Mexico.” Thor paused a moment, as if just realizing something.

“To be brought up with stories of monsters, then realize you were the monster they were talking about. It probably did a number on his psyche. No wonder his brain is like a bag of cats.” Bruce said thoughtfully. 

“But why would he send the Destroyer to Earth after you and your friends in New Mexico? Why not just bring you back when he took over the throne?” Asked Fury, also connecting the dots and not liking the conclusion he was coming too.

“To kill myself and my friends, in order to keep control of the crown as King of Asgard,” said Thor, sure of his answer.

“No,” said Tony, “you said he has plans within plans. He is a trickster. There had to be more to it than just killing you. There is still a piece of this equation missing. Something we are overlooking. What would make you worthy of your Hammer? What needed to happen in order for you to return to Asgard to help battle the Frost Giants?”

“The ultimate sacrifice,” said James' quiet voice over the comms. “You needed to die, or at least be willing to die for those you cared about most in order to prove yourself worthy.”

Everyone in the common area froze as things started to click into place. 

“Loki didn’t want the throne.” Said Thor, “he wanted me to return to Asgard because he knew the people wouldn’t want him on the throne now that his heritage was known to all. The only way to do that was for me to regain my powers and wield Mjolnir again.”

Thor took in a deep breath, “Just like he knew I wasn’t ready to be King before the coronation.”

Suddenly all of Loki’s actions made a lot more sense to his Brother. It also explained the anger and resentment towards him coming from both Loki and Steven. Thor suddenly felt lower than dirt. He could’ve prevented all of his. He could’ve done something to save Loki from Thanos’ grasp and free him from the torture’s he’d faced. 

Without a word, Thor turned and moved towards the elevator. When the doors closed, Thor asked Jarvis to take him to the roof. He needed to think and find a way to make this up to his brother.

The others looked like they wanted to say something to the God of Thunder, but no one did. This was all a lot to take in for all of them.

“This is if we believe everything that Loki has said so far.” Said Natasha, still not sure she believed this story that was unraveling around them.

“Tasha,” came James’ voice over the comm, “you saw how Steve used the Hammer.” He switched to Russian, “and we both know what it looks like to be desperate to escape a situation that’s completely out of your control. Knowing you have no hope of rescue and only an insane plan that will either work or get you killed.”

Natasha’s breath hitched a moment and she crossed her arms not acknowledging what James said. She knew it was true though, and if she looked closely enough, she could see the same signs on Loki and Steve- she was just having trouble allowing herself to see them. 

A grave silence fell over the Avengers and Fury, all caught up in the conclusions they all drew. The group was all watching the screen, as Loki finished his water and Steve picked up the mug of broth with two hands. He took a small sip and grimaced in pain. Without a word Loki held out a hand for the mug and Steve passed it over. 

Loki held the mug securely bringing it up to his mouth. He blew over it gently then took a small sip as well, before passing it back over to Steve who looked grateful. Steve’s eyes darted around the room quickly, like he thought they might be in trouble for something. When nothing happened, he took another sip of the soup, only this time without the painful grimace. He gave Loki a small smile of gratitude before taking a few more sips from the mug.

“Jarvis,” said Bruce, who suddenly thought he knew what just happened, “can you tell us the temperature of the soup that Steve is drinking?”

“The soup was a couple of degrees above room temperature when Mr. Rogers took his first sip. After the cup was passed to Loki the temperature dropped to that of something left in the refrigerator for a few days, around twenty or so degrees cooler.” Came Jarvis’ prompt reply.

“Why didn’t the weapons react to his use of magic then?” Said Tony, slightly worried that the threat they gave earlier might not actually hold any weight to it.

“My sensors have been monitoring Loki in every instance he has been at the Tower. There was no sign of magic being used just then like there has been in past instances when he has used it around the Tower.” Said Jarvis.

“Frost Giant.” Said Bruce, Tony and Fury all at once. Tony and Fury seemed to be upset that they both spoke at the same time like that.

When the mug was replaced on the tray, a couple inches lower than it had been originally, but nowhere near enough for Steve to be full James had Jarvis open the door.

“What the fuck is he doing?” Fury almost shouted but held back. On screen both Loki and Steve became extremely tense, a spark of fear entering their features before being masked behind defiance.

If James noticed he didn’t comment on it. “I have just one more question for you. I promise it’s the last one for today.”

He was looking right at Loki when he spoke, careful to keep eye contact with the God. Steve had his head tilted on his knees slightly, so he could keep both Loki and James in his sights without moving too much in either direction. The tension in both their forms didn’t ease at all; it almost seemed to get worse with James’ statement.

“Alright,” said Loki hesitantly.

“When you were on Thanos’ planet. Were you shielding yourself from Heimdall’s view at any point?” James was watching both of their guests carefully for a reaction, knowing this was the puzzle piece the others were missing.

Loki’s eyes narrowed, trying to see if this was some kind of trap. He turned to face Steve, who was tapping furiously on his leg with his right hand, the one closest to Loki. Almost hiding the move from James’ presence and the cameras. The pair shared a moment of “creepy weird telepathy,” as Tony began calling it before Loki answered. “No, from the moment I landed on the planet my magic’s main goal was keeping me alive, for which it barely succeeded. There was no energy for me to shield myself from Heimdall’s sight… even if I wanted too.” The last part muttered low enough that the people on the common floor missed it, but James, having a messed-up version of Steve’s serum, heard it well enough.

James’ posture became extremely tense at the muttered phrase, which set off more tension in both Loki and Steve, who flinched back and made themselves smaller targets, their breath hitching slightly, without taking their eyes off James’ person. James noticed the reaction right away and forced himself to relax, as to not scare his friend and Loki further.

When James could speak without anger in his voice, (it took him a moment) he said, “Thank you.” And made his way out of the room. It took over five minutes for Loki and Steve to relax again. Steve was the first to calm down, putting a hand on Loki’s knee, which seemed to help the God calm down. His fingers were steadily tapping against his leg the whole time.

Within two minutes of James visiting Loki and Steve solo, he was up on the common floor speaking even as the elevator was still opening; “They are not going to Shield for containment. And they are not staying in that room any longer than necessary.”

James had confirmed what they had all wanted to know, fitting the last piece of the puzzle into place.

“So Loki’s goal wasn’t world domination,” said Natasha, “He was looking to open the portal so Steve could also escape from Thanos’ hold.”

“I think he was also trying to show us how ill prepared we were for an invasion.” Said Bruce, “the whole time Loki was here, every move we made was in reaction to something he did. He was two steps ahead of us the whole time.”

“That’s why he went after Phil,” said Fury, “cause you dumb assess couldn’t get your shit together and work as a team. He knew you would need an extra push or this whole thing would be a bigger cluster fuck than it already was.”

There was a moment of silence before, “Well Fuck!” Which was what everyone was thinking to some degree or another.

After about ten minutes of tense silence, where everyone was lost in their own thoughts Tony was the first to speak, “So, what are we going to do with the boarding situation of our guests?”

After shedding some light on what was really going on through the invasion with the Chitauri didn’t make everything better, but it did help alleviate some of the anger from the group.

“Do you even have room for all these people suddenly staying at your Tower Stark?” Came Fury’s gibe at Tony.

Tony looked affronted with Fury even entertaining his thought process. “Of COURSE there is room. I built this Tower, literally with my own two hands. Stop trying to take away our people.”

“I’m not sure Steve or Loki would feel comfortable staying with another person in the room. Steve and Loki can stay in the rooms across from me,” said James, “Thor is also on that floor.” The implied, there would be an extra set of hands if something went awry was not said.

Natasha looked between all of them, “I will find my own room.”

Bruce nodded in agreement, “I’ll also find my own space.”

“Well,” said Fury, “Seems like you all have this under control. I will send over some Shield personnel in the next few days to start the vetting process.” Fury turned and stormed to the Tower in his typical dramatic fashion. If he was rattled by what they had just figured out, he wasn’t showing it.

“Bruce, perhaps we could get Steve and Loki to agree to a more informal check up in their new room?” James spoke up again, seeming to take charge of everything.

Bruce nodded, “let me get my bag.”

James and Bruce made their way to the elevator while Tony and Natasha stayed on the common floor.

“You don’t seem excited about their stay.” Tony was having a moment of unusual perceptiveness, so he figured he would try to get Natasha to talk- hopefully without losing a finger… or limb in the process.

“Not particularly no.” Came the quick reply. Natasha seemed amused that Tony of all people wanted to talk with her about this but didn’t seem surprised that one of them did. She hadn’t been at the ruins and didn’t have the full story of events, nor was she as emotionally invested like James or Thor.

Tony nodded, “Well, as of about twelve hours ago, time zones included, I thought the same thing. The only reason I agreed to it was because of New Cap, and the creepiness of where they were staying.”

“Perhaps that was part of their master plan. The place where they chose to hide.” 

“Probably. Looking back, that might’ve had something to do with it. But that was also a place of importance to the Caps Squared. It was the site where James was first rescued by Cap One point Oh.”

“I’m going to need to talk to Clint. He’s probably not going to be happy about this.”

Tony nodded, “I can’t see him being happy with any of this. What did you find out about Agent and this TAHITI thing Fury wanted to do?”

“It’s an experimental procedure that will apparently bring someone back from death. Clint was adamant that Phil wouldn’t need it. Unfortunately, he couldn’t explain his reasoning; it was a gut feeling. He’s going to stay with Phil until further notice.” Natasha said, trying to wrap her head around all of this.

Tony made a noise, but didn’t comment further, seeming to realize the conversation was over for now. “Why don’t you go claim a room? Jarvis will tell you what’s available and give you some good locations away from our guests. Or you could go talk to Point Break. He seems a bit troubled.”

Natasha gave Tony a glare, without any actual heat to it and made her way to the elevator. Tony downed the rest of his drink; he had refilled it once or twice over the last few hours and made his way to the couch. “J, see if you can get Pepper on the phone. I need to give her a heads up about what’s happening here at the Tower.”

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Thor was standing at the edge of the roof, not looking at anything particular as he thought. If what Loki was saying was true, then Odin had caused greater harm than good where his brother was concerned. And, if Thor was being honest with himself, he had also done much wrong by his brother over the last few years.

All that talk on the Bifröst about being brothers and working together… and here was Thor leaving Loki to fend for himself after his fall. He should’ve taken more of an initiative to find him. He shouldn’t have just left his brother to his fate. Perhaps all of this wouldn’t have happened. Perhaps then Loki wouldn’t look at Thor with such hatred. 

The door behind him opened and the soft steps of Natasha filled the air. “Tony says you are up here brooding.”

“I’ve failed my brother.” Was his reply, “I couldn’t see past my own arrogance when it came to so many things and Loki has had to suffer for it.”

Natasha moved to look out over New York with Thor, “What could you have changed if anything? Clearly, if your father knew of Loki’s imprisonment then he thought Loki deserved it, whatever his reasoning. Do you really think he would’ve sanctioned your rescue attempt?”

“Nay,” said Thor, “I don’t think I understand Father’s relationship with Loki, or his reasons for doing what he has.”

There was a comfortable silence, “What are your feelings on Loki being here?”

“I know what it feels like to see desperation for an escape and knowing the odds working against you.” Natasha had taken a moment in the elevator to really analyze the situation and what James had said to her. He was right; the two of them had been in similar situations on a smaller scale. If it hadn’t been for Clint and Phil…. Natasha wasn’t sure what would’ve happened.

Thor raised an eyebrow at her, seeing the answer for what it was and waited. Natasha took a moment, “Part of me is not happy about them being here. I can’t trust their story yet. But another part feels sympathetic because I know what they are going through.”

The God of Thunder nodded in understanding, “It would be difficult for us to convince you of the truthfulness of their story, as only Loki and Steven can do that. I understand your hesitation as well. A small part of me still thinks this is just another one of Loki’s tricks, a way to get back at me for everything that has happened in the last two years.”

“Bruce was right about one thing though,” said Natasha, “We were definitely not as prepared for the invasion as we thought we would be.”

“The ground has been set for a better comraderance between us all. It would behoove us to continue this journey together in order to be ready for the other threats in the nine realms.” Was Thor’s reply. “Now, have you chosen a room yet? Anthony has a palace of rooms to select from whilst we stay here.”

Natasha’s lips twitched up slightly at Thor’s little speech, “Yeah. I found one that I like well enough. Beats staying in safe houses and Shield Headquarters that’s for sure.”

“Then let us depart these upsetting thoughts and move forward towards sleep and tomorrow.” Thor was trying to cheer them both up, which seemed to be working. They made their way back towards the stairwell entrance for the roof in comfortable silence, both with a slightly better understanding of the other.

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James moved quickly to Loki and Steve’s holding room. He wasn’t going to call it a cell. Not even to himself. As he got to the door a snap decision made him knock to announce his presence. He waited a beat, and then had Jarvis open the door for him.

Loki and Steve hadn’t changed positions at all from earlier. Although it did look like Steve had finished more of the soup since his last visit and the bread from his plate was gone. James would ask Jarvis later which one of them ate it.

Upon seeing James, the pair tensed up again. He had already said he wasn’t going to be asking more questions for the day, so that meant he either lied, or was there for something else. They weren’t sure what would be a better option at this point considering everything.

“So, we’ve figured out the room situation for you both. You won’t need to spend the night here, come on.” James motioned for them to stand then added, “you’re going to be staying at the Tower. In case that was what you were worried about.”

Loki and Steve shared a look before standing from their seated positions. Again, they motioned for James to lead the way and started to move towards his position. James however went over to Steve’s tray and grabbed the soup. There was still about a third of it left, and James wasn’t about to let Steve get away without eating all of it. Steve saw the move and rolled his eyes at his friend, but was secretly pleased nonetheless. 

The trio made their way to the elevator in silence. Jarvis opened it up without prompting and when they were all on, began moving up towards James and Thor’s floor.

“You’ll be staying on the floor Thor and I are staying on.” Said James into the silence.

Loki tensed but didn’t say anything.

When the doors opened Bruce was standing in the hall, his bag at his side. James led the pair to a room across from his before opening the door for them. “See, a normal room, with a bathroom, bed and everything. So, which of you wants this one?”

Steve and Loki shared another “creepy weird telepathy” moment before Loki answered for the pair, “we would like to be kept in this room together.” 

“There’s only one bed in here,” said James, slightly confused.

“That won’t be a problem.” Said Loki quietly. Steve just shrugged. James looked between the pair for a moment, trying to decipher Loki’s meaning. After a beat he shrugged as well and moved out of the doorway so both guests could go into the room.

Steve and Loki walked into the room, Steve a little more cautiously than Loki. Bruce followed them but stopped at the door. “If it’s alright, I’d like to do an informal check up. Nothing invasive and I can explain everything that’s happening before I do it. If you don’t want me to do something you can just tell me, and I won’t.”

Steve tensed and backed away towards a wall as Bruce spoke, he looked like he wanted to argue but couldn’t. Loki didn’t say anything, just looking between Steve and Bruce, letting him make the decision. Loki knew that Steve needed medical attention more than he did, but he also knew that he more than likely wouldn’t accept it, especially after everything that happened in Thanos’ …care.

“Stevie,” said James, moving into the room next to Bruce, but not blocking the doorway, “if it helps Bruce can do the exam on me first so you can see what he wants to do.”

Steve narrowed his eyes at his friend. When he had been rescued from Azzano, Bucky refused to go to medical. For him to be saying this now meant a lot to Steve because he knew how much his friend also hated doctors. He looked around the room a moment before giving the barest of nods. Loki and James both relaxed some, realizing their friend would be willing to do this.

“Thank you,” said Bruce quietly, “why don’t you find a place to get comfortable and we can get started.”

Bruce expected Steve to move to a chair, or even the edge of the bed. However, Steve took in the whole room for a few minutes before finally selecting a spot on another sidewall, where he had a view of the door and a view out the large floor to ceiling windows Tony liked for all his bedrooms. James moved so he was sitting with his back to a chair, a little way in front of Steve, while Bruce slowly made his way over to the two of them, sitting with his back to the door and completing their little triangle.

Loki moved to the same wall Steve was sitting against, an arm’s width closer to the door, giving his friend more space, but close enough to reach out a hand if needed.

Bruce debated with taking everything out all at once or just one instrument at a time. Both options had the chance of giving Steve some kind of panic attack or negative reaction. After some thought he settled on taking everything out but explaining it as he set it down and giving Steve a chance to take in what he says. He had already asked Jarvis to do some scans of his own and leave the information on Tony’s personal server in a folder for him under some encryptions.

So, Bruce began going through his bag, selecting the things he would need and explaining their importance to Steve as he went. Bruce was careful to watch Steve’s reactions to everything and moved slow enough that he had a chance to take in everything before moving on to the next item. James was also watching the interaction closely, monitoring his friend in the same way. 

About halfway in Bruce realized they would need to take Steve’s cuffs off to get to his wrist to check his pulse. Bruce finished taking everything out of the bag, closing it up and putting it behind him. He then held out his hand, “I’m going to need to take your cuffs off in order to do the exam.”

Steve narrowed his eyes but didn’t move right away. After a beat he pointed to Loki’s hands which were also still in cuffs, a silent challenge in his eyes and some masked worry that this might backfire on them.

Loki and James’ lips twitched at the move. It was so Steve. James was happy that his friend wasn’t as broken as he originally thought. It was a good starting point. Bruce raised an eyebrow at the move, looking between the pair and James, who was no help- just sitting there with a carefully blank look. Bruce’s own lips twitched before he caved with a dramatic sigh.

“Fine.” Bruce then held his hand out for Loki’s cuffs. Loki slowly brought his hands up within Bruce’s reach, not sure if this was some kind of trick but willing to take the chance to be out of chains for a little while. Without a word Bruce removed the cuffs and put them behind him with his bag out of sight. He then held out his hand for Steve again, silently waiting for him to comply so he could do the same thing. Steve seemed to relax a little and held out his hands for the cuffs to be removed, rubbing his wrists a little when they were off.

Bruce nodded to himself, before grabbing the thermometer from the floor. He showed Steve how it worked and demonstrated on James when he moved his head forward enough for Bruce to reach. Within a second Bruce pulled it away and showed Steve the results. Without prompting Steve moved his head forward enough for Bruce to reach with the instrument. Bruce gently placed it against his head and pulled it away after a few seconds. He looked at the results with a slight frown.

It read 97.0 degrees F.

“Jarvis, is the thermometer broken?” Bruce asked after another second of looking at the results. 

“No Sir.” Came Jarvis’ quick reply.

“What’s wrong?” Asked James with a frown. Bruce showed him the results then looked back at Steve who was watching them again with narrowed eyes.

“Trouble already?” Asked Loki, an unusual lilt to his tone.

“I’m not sure,” said Bruce, “it might be a result of prolonged time in space. But I can’t be sure at this point.” He looked like he wanted to say more but thought better of it and put the thermometer away. /Perhaps some other tests will be necessary… Just not right now./

Bruce then pulled out his stethoscope, putting it around his neck. “I’d like to check your pulse, then your lungs and heart.” 

He took hold of James’ flesh wrist and held it, taking his pulse. His heart was racing a little, but it was probably because of the things happening in the last few days. He gave an “all’s good.” Then held out his hand for Steve’s wrist. Again, Steve put his wrist out without hesitation, pulling the sleeve of his jacket back a little so Bruce wouldn’t have to.

Bruce held onto his wrist the same as he did for James, again a frown coming over his features. He could barely feel Steve’s pulse and what he could feel was pretty slow- slower than it should have been. Bruce’s eyes drew together in concern, as he let go. He then held up the stethoscope. “I’m not sure I got an accurate reading on your pulse. Do you mind if I use this?”

Steve didn’t move to give Bruce his hand. Bruce gave it a moment before holding out a hand to James so he could demonstrate what he meant. James gave his hand over again without a word. When he was finished Bruce repeated the process with Steve, but even with the stethoscope the results were the same. Bruce made a mental note and added it to things that Jarvis should monitor. /This has to do with the serum and his time in space. Of that I’m sure. /

The exam continued for another forty-five minutes, Bruce methodically going through the process first with James, then with Steve. Tony came in at one point and watched silently before making an escape when his phone beeped. Thor hovered in the hall for a little while then made his way over to his room. If Loki or Steve noticed his presence they didn’t comment or react. 

Bruce was able to get Steve to take off his jacket, and raise his shirt to check his lungs, heart, ribs, blood pressure, etc. Neither he nor James commented on the scars criss crossing his chest and arms. He was also able to take a penlight to Steve’s eyes to check his pupils with no trouble (even though the results were more than a little troubling to Bruce). 

It was only when he wanted to check Steve’s neck that Steve had a bad reaction. When Bruce finished demonstrating on James, Steve shook his head no when Bruce reached for him. He also pushed himself flat against the wall, moving away without actually moving. Bruce and James both saw the move but didn’t comment. 

“Well,” said Bruce, “I guess we’re done for now.” He began packing up his things, hesitating a moment before putting the cuffs into his bag as well. James gave a small nod at the move, agreeing with Bruce’s decision.

Loki and Steve exchanged a glance but didn’t move otherwise, not sure what to think.

“It’s getting late, so you should probably get some sleep. We’ll be by in the morning with more food.” Said Bruce as he stood to leave. James also stood and picked up the mug of soup off the dresser where he left it when he walked in and brought it over to his friend, “You need to finish this Stevie.”

Steve took the cup from his friend, taking another small sip as he did. “Now remember, I’ll be right across the hall if you need anything. Just ask Jarvis and he’ll get me.”

With that James made his way out of the room with Bruce, shutting the door behind them.

Jarvis started to dim the lights but stopped them when Steve’s pulse started to spike and Loki became tense. He raised the lights a few megawatts then kept them that way. The pair relaxed again when the lights didn’t continue to dim.

James and Thor found them both in the same spots the next morning when they came in with breakfast for the pair.

#### End Chapter 4


	5. The Start of a Week of Post Invasion Insanity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **"Speaking in Russian"**

The following morning came much too soon for three quarters of the residents of Tony’s Tower. Bruce spent most of the night in a lab, analyzing the results from Steve’s exam, looking over the scans from Jarvis, and generally just hypothesizing about what was happening with Steve’s body. He was also trying to come up with some kind of liquid food plan for Steve. Jarvis later informed him that Steve had given Loki the bread they had put with the soup. Bruce wasn’t sure if it was because Loki needed the energy more, if Steve couldn’t actually eat solid food, or if it was a combination of both.

Tony spent most of the night in his lab, talking with Pepper on the phone, or working on ideas for new designs of the suit. He wanted something that would be easier to call to his person but at the moment he was only in the idea and mathematics stage trying to make the physics bend to his will.

James actually got a little sleep that night, but most of it was having Jarvis help him google different art supply stores for Steve. Since he couldn’t talk for whatever reason and didn’t seem keen on writing, James thought it would be nice for him to have a sketchbook to get his thoughts out for the others. It might make things easier when trying to interact with him, even if it would take a while for each conversation to finish.

He also spent some of the night talking with Natasha over the events of the past twenty-four hours, trying to help her understand the events that had happened, which were a lot. While one part of Natasha understood why Steve and Loki did what they did, another part was still upset over how it was executed. Especially since Clint and Phil were caught in the crossfire.

Thor slept, but was plagued with memories of the time leading up to Loki’s fall from the Bifröst. Now that Thor had this new information all of Loki’s actions leading up to his fall made so much more sense. He was also trying to find ways to make things up with his brother and apologize for everything he did or didn’t do to make Loki feel ostracized from the family and his friends.

As the sun rose, the group found themselves in the common floor kitchen, drinking lots of coffee and eating breakfast. With Loki and Steve in an actual guest room, but still under surveillance the Avengers weren’t quite sure what to do.

“Perhaps Loki would be willing to fix the damage to your floor Anthony.” Said Thor suddenly, “If he is feeling up to it.”

“That would save on needing to get work crews up there,” said Tony, “but I’m not sure how I feel about Harry Potter doing magic in the Tower.”

“The decision would be up to you of course,” said Thor.

“They are going to need new clothes.” Said Natasha suddenly. “And they will probably be bored to death up there, just sitting all day. Maybe we can show them how to use the television in their room or get them some books to read.” 

“I would like to do some tests on what Steve is wearing now. It’s fascinating material and I’m wondering what properties it has that are different from Earth made clothes.” Said Bruce, ever the scientist.

“I asked Jarvis to order some art supplies for Steve. He always did like to draw, and perhaps that would be another way to communicate with him, so we don’t need to go through Loki.” Added James quietly.

“I could probably spare a StarkTablet for him. Then he can also write what he wants to say, and we don’t need to play Pictionary for a conversation.” 

Everyone rolled their eyes at Tony.

“How about after breakfast,” said James, trying to come up with a plan for the day, “we get our guests food. Then when they’re done eating, we see about maybe separating them for a little while. Maybe Tony and Thor take Loki up to the Penthouse- see if Loki can fix the damage. ‘Tasha, Bruce and I can see if we can get Steve to talk more, or at least give yes or no answers. Maybe show him where my room is, or even get him to take a shower.”

“Hey wait-!”

“Tony, weren’t you the one complaining to Pepper about all the sweaty construction works on your private elevator?” Said Natasha teasingly.

“…I’m not sure if I should be more terrified that you are on speaking terms with my girlfriend, or the fact that you just made a joke.” 

Natasha gave him a bemused glare and sipped her coffee in reply. Tony looked like he was about to flee to his workshop.

**“Stop teasing him My Moon.”** Said James in Russian to Natasha, giving Tony an amused look as he spoke, **“I don’t think his arc reactor will be able to handle it.”** The nickname was a running joke between the pair.

“Thor! Speaker of the All-Speak! What is he saying about me over there???” Thor just gave Tony an amused look and ate the last of the pop tarts from the box.

“Sorry friend Anthony,” came Thor’s amused refusal, “I can not reveal the words of my teammates for you. The ability of the All-Speak cannot be abused in this way.”

Tony narrowed his eyes, “Why do I get the feeling you are all sassing me?”

“Probably because they are,” said Bruce with a smile as he put together another food tray for Loki and a protein rich smoothie for Steve.

“Hey!! Science Bro code!! You can’t gang up against me with them!” Tony pointed an accusatory finger at Bruce in fake anger. “It’s in the rule book! Jarvis put the Science Bro rulebook on Bruce’s tablet. Clearly he needs a new copy of it. Also- translate what the assassin duo said about me pronto!”

“Sorry Sir,” Jarvis sounded amused, not actually sorry, “Privacy settings 11-13 Sections A through C prevents me from translating it for you. Also, the rulebook has been downloaded to Mr. Banner’s tablet as you’ve asked, the entire paragraph of it.”

Tony’s jaw dropped open as the others chuckled, “Traitor. I’m going to reprogram you. Just as soon as I get to the workshop.”

“Of course, Sir.” 

Bruce put the last of the food on the trays, “This is ready to go,” he said to the room in general, knowing Thor and James would want to go up with him to drop it off.

Before he even finished the sentence, Thor and James were up and grabbing the trays off the counter and making their way to the elevator.

Natasha and Tony stayed at the table. They would give it a half hour or so before they went up as well. 

“Jarvis will keep us apprised if there are any problems.” Said Tony as he sipped another cup of coffee. Natasha thought he was on at least his fourth, but it was hard to tell.

After a while Thor came back up and took out another can of broth and set about heating it up like Bruce had shown him the night before. The God explained what he was doing and why to his fellow Avengers as he worked to transfer it to a mug. Tony and Natasha thought about warning him about the heating thing Loki had done but shared a glance and stayed silent. It would be interesting to see the God do it again and see if Jarvis could catch anything in his sensors.

Tony began working on his tablet to change the sensors Jarvis could use. He also began brainstorming recipes they could use for Steve, so he wasn’t just eating broth forever.

The pair sat in comfortable silence until Jarvis let them know that their guests had finished eating. He also let Natasha know that the order James had placed the night before was on its way up.

They made their way to the elevator together, Tony stopping to grab another StarkTablet for Steve. Natasha would take care of the package that James had ordered.

Tony liked his fingers where they were, so he didn’t mention her favoritism with her fellow assassin.

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Bruce led the way to Loki and Steve’s room, knocking for a moment before entering it. The pair looked like they hadn’t left their spots from the night before though, still sitting on the floor within arms length of each other.

James and Thor brought the food trays over to the pair, none of the Avengers commenting on the lack of movement from the pair.

Loki’s tray was the traditional breakfast of pancakes (a Thor size stack) and bacon, while Steve’s was a protein rich smoothie and a glass of water. Steve raised his eyebrow at the smoothie, never having seen one before.

After a look at Steve, similar to the night before, Loki began working through the pancakes and bacon- he’d never eaten them before, and while it wasn’t what he was used to, he certainly wasn’t going to complain or waste the food. With each meal he could feel his magic converting the calories to energy and using it to heal his body. Hopefully he will be back to normal by the end of the week. He ignored Thor but kept an eye on Steve and the others while he ate. 

“It’s a protein smoothie.” Explained Bruce, “it has some protein rich foods like kale, but also some fruits, milk and some protein powder. We also made sure it was cold.”

Steve looked across the room a moment, although none of the Avengers were sure what he was looking at, before sniffing the smoothie and taking a small sip. He grimaced in pain before putting the smoothie back on the tray. His fingers began tapping on the floor between him and Loki. With his other hand he took the water and started sipping that.

“Something wrong?” Bruce asked with curiosity.

Loki was the one to answer, “It was too thick.” He hesitated a moment before adding, “the broth was thin enough for him to drink. Perhaps he can have more of that?”

“Of course,” said Bruce immediately.

“I will go get some ready,” said Thor, noticing the way Loki was ignoring him and wanting to be helpful in some way.

It only took a little while for Thor to return with the mug, handing it to Steve, who took it with two hands. He felt the heat radiating off of it and drew his eyebrows together. James quietly explained to Thor that Steve could drink the soup cold, not warm, and he apologized to his teammate for not mentioning that before he had gone back up to the kitchen.

Steve was looking between the trio, then the mug. He glanced at Loki and raised an eyebrow at him after a moment, before holding out the mug. Loki, who had finished eating, glanced between the three Avengers, Steve and the mug. One of Steve’s hands was tapping against the side of said mug as he held it out.

Loki sighed and took the mug from his friend. Without looking at the Avengers he did what he had the night before and gently blew into the mug. He then took a small sip before passing it back over to Steve.

To their credit, the three Avengers didn’t comment at all with Loki’s use of his Frost Giant ability, even Thor, who looked like he was going to. Luckily James was standing close enough to elbow him from commenting. Steve took a few bigger sips of the broth before setting it down again next to him. He gave Bruce and Thor a little smile as a thank you. Loki also relaxed marginally when no one commented on what he had done. The Oath was still heavy on his mind, but none of them had brought it up again and Loki certainly wasn’t going to. /It might be a trick, but Steve said they hadn’t spoken more on that issue the night before… /

The five of them sat in relatively comfortable silence for a little while, Steve only moving as he finished the broth Thor had gotten for him. Jarvis eventually made a ding sound for the elevator, a way of letting the others know Tony and Natasha were arriving without actually saying anything.

Tony came into the room like the ringmaster of a circus, waving his Startablets around and talking the moment he was in the doorway. Bruce sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose at the antics of his fellow scientist. “Howdy kids! Or should I say, criminals, assassins, Gods and Science bros! Ah, got rid of the cuffs I see. Excellent. Excellent. Now, I have presents for our silent, silent partner over here- what with the not talking problem we have…” Tony looked like he was going to shove the tablet at Steve, but the look of growing confusion that was masking panic and fear stopped him. Instead Tony knelt on the floor in pretty close proximity to Steve and just put the tablet on the floor, inching it closer so Steve could see what he was doing. The move had more gentleness than his tone entering the room first suggested.

“It’s a StarkTablet.” He said in explanation, “I personally don’t like to be handed things. It’s a thing for me; so I figured it might be a thing for you as well hence the floor pushing. Now, if you press this picture here it will open a document that you can type into. Then when you are finished typing you hit this key,” he pointed to the F1 button, “and it will say what you wrote out loud. A voice for the no voice type deal. Kinda like a less cool Jarvis.”

As Tony was explaining he was also typing out a demonstration upside-down as it was facing towards Steve. He hit the F1 key and an Irish accent came from the Tablet, “Tony is the nicest, most generous person in the world to be sharing this technology with me. Also- Ironman is the coolest of the Avengers. He should totally be the leader over RoboCap what with his awesome plan making abilities and total genius.”

Steve’s lips started twitching into a huge smile as he read/heard Tony’s little demo- and he also relaxed even though Tony was in such close proximity to show him how to work the program. His eyes darted between the screen, Tony, and James- who had face palmed when he heard what Tony had typed out. “Really Stark?”

James looked at the pair- Steve had laughter in his eyes now- directed at his friend, while Tony had a giant smirk on his face at achieving his goal. “Shut up Punk.” 

Steve’s smile only grew in response. James began muttering in Russian about clearly needing new friends and teammates. Loki, who was also watching his friend interact with Tony, began chuckling at James' words. The others in the room also cracked smiles; (even though Bruce didn’t know exactly what James was saying, he could make a pretty good hypothesis).

“Join the club,” said Natasha, who was standing in the doorway watching the interaction between her teammates and their guests. In her hands was the box James had ordered the night before. Upon seeing it the ex-Soviet’s face lit up- knowing he was about to trump Tony with his gift to Steve. He walked over to his partner and took hold of the box, bringing it over to Steve as well.

“Fancy tech is all well and good,” said James as he walked over, “but THIS! This is timeless.” Natasha had used one of her knives to slice the tape open before handing it over, which saved James some work. He sat on the floor next to Steve and put the box on the floor in front of them, pulling back the tabs as he did.

When Steve saw the sketchbooks and pencil selection (colored pencils, charcoals, regular lead, and even a hand sharpener) his face completely lit up as he took a shocked breath of air, any tension he had previously washed away. He looked between James and the box for a moment- not sure if this was real. James, noticing the hesitation nodded at his friend. At his nod Steve pulled out the first sketchbook touching it with gentle fingers and soft touches. He showed the book to Loki, who smiled and nodded, the pair seemingly sharing another creepy telepathy moment.

The moment only lasted a few seconds before Steve gently placed the sketchbook down between Loki and himself. He then turned towards James, who only had a moment’s notice before Steve pulled him into a tight hug. 

James wasn’t expecting the move, so he froze for all of three seconds before exhaling and wrapping his arms around Steve as well, careful to stay away from his neck. 

Tony’s indignant and playfully dramatic, “My StarkTablet was way cooler than a bunch of blank books!,” was answered with an elbow to the side from Natasha, who shushed him for good measure. Tony pouted in response.

As Steve and James pulled apart, James snorted in amusement, “Gotta know your audience Stark.”

The look in Steve’s eyes spoke volumes to the room as a whole, making everyone somewhat glad they could get rid of the haunted look in his eyes for a little while.

Loki sat quietly, not expecting anything from the team because of what happened with the invasion. /It’s fine. We both knew this would be a possibility. / 

But to see this possibility playing out in real life hurt the trickster God a little. He would never show or say anything about it though. He knew his friend had endured so much worse at the hands of Thanos that it was only fair that he get something that would make him smile even just a little.

Thor, being more perceptive about his brother and his feelings now that he was actively looking, noticed the careful mask Loki was wearing. “Actually brother,” said Thor, gaining everyone’s attention, “We have something for you as well.”

Tony took over seeing as how Thor and Loki had some bad blood between them, “Yeah Gandalf. We are going to trust you to do magic around the Tower, and trust that you won’t use it to harm anyone. Only, there is one condition,” Loki’s eyes narrowed waiting for the other shoe to drop about the Oath… “You need to use it to fix my penthouse. I will not allow Pepper to have more well built yet extremely sweaty guys using my **private** elevator.” Tony looked like he wanted to go on another rant about that incident but a look from Natasha stopped him.

Loki’s eyebrows shot up, clearly having difficulty processing what Tony had just said. Steve was looking at the pad he had taken out earlier, a pencil in hand as he worked on his first drawing. Although he was keeping an eye on the room as a whole, the hand not drawing was tapping away at the edge of his book. Loki glanced over at his friend, then back at the Avengers. He wondered if he should mention the Oath, but not really wanted to go through with it.

Bruce seemed to read his hesitation for what it was, “We aren’t going to make you swear an Oath. Honest. Consider this a gesture of good faith and a chance to make up for some of the destruction that happened during the invasion. But only if you are feeling up to it, as a doctor I don’t want you to over strain yourself on Tony’s account.”

Tony began muttering about clearly needing a new Science Bro since Bruce was still sassing him so much.

Loki looked over at Steve, who had stopped sketching, but was still tapping his other hand and looking back at Loki with an “I Told You So” gleam in his eyes. After a few seconds Loki turned his attention back to the Avengers with a nod, “Alright. I accept your terms.”

“There is one more thing for the both of you.” Said Natasha suddenly, “We also want you to meet with a Shield Psychologist and some other personnel to make sure that you aren’t going to go off your rocker and start killing people… again. It is standard procedure for all Agents, or people who are brought in and it’s non-negotiable.”

Loki and Steve shared another look. Steve shrugged while Loki said, “Well. If it’s non negotiable then I don’t really see wasting time arguing over it.”

“Hey, Penthouse first, Shield later. Much later. In fact, they can hold off for a few days before coming over... three to five days really. Not much space yet for them to set up shop. And my Penthouse isn’t fixed yet. Clearly that is much more important.” Tony seemed like he could go one for a while yet without stopping, but the others also looked like they might commit a murder of their own soon. Loki took that as his cue to stand. He used the wall for support, but no one mentioned it like he thought they might.

“Well come on then. Lead the way so I might fix the wrongs committed upon your home.” Loki’s words were enough to stop Tony from continuing his rant. He nodded then began walking towards the elevator. Natasha and Thor falling into step behind Loki, who followed Tony. The God of Mischief glanced at Steve before moving, but he just nodded his head and continued working on his drawing.

After a few moments though Steve looked up and stopped drawing. Bruce and James were still in the room with him, seemingly okay with watching Steve continue to draw. Steve raised an eyebrow at the pair, feeling like there was something else they wanted from him.

“We were thinking you might like a chance to get clean.” Said James when Steve looked up, “Not sure you had too many opportunities to shower, or anything before getting here. Maybe even get some clean clothes? Would that be alright with you?” He spoke carefully, watching his friend for any negative reactions. Steve’s eyes flashed briefly when James mentioned new clothes, but the emotion was gone much too quickly for either Avenger to see properly.

“James has some clothes here. When it seemed like we would be staying for a while Tony had people go to everyone’s apartments and pick up clothes and other essentials for them. Some of his things might fit you, would you like to go see what’s available?” Bruce added in his quiet and calm voice. Steve looked between the pair a moment before looking around the room again, head tilted slightly to the side. After a moment he hesitantly nodded, and put down his art supplies, making sure it was securely closed when he did. He also picked up his mug and continued to sip the broth as he stood with James and Bruce.

James led the way across the hall to his room, with Steve and Bruce walking side by side, Bruce being a careful distance away so as to not crowd Steve. James went straight to his dresser, grabbing some undergarments first, then some sweats that had a good drawstring on them. He paused before going to his shirt drawer, not sure what kind Steve would want to wear. James glanced over at Steve, who was watching him rummage. Steve pointed to his turtleneck when he saw James’ look, wanting something that would continue to hide his neck from view.

James seemed to understand what Steve meant, before going to the drawer that had the long sleeve shirts. The only turtleneck he had thought was a gray sweater that had been a gift from Clint as an inside joke between the pair. It was slightly big on James, which meant it would be bigger on Steve. After another considering pause, he grabbed a short sleeve shirt as well, which would be another layer for Steve to wear. He presented everything for Steve’s inspection; who just nodded to all the clothes James was showing him.

Bruce led the way back over to Steve and Loki’s room, gesturing to one of the closed doors across from where Steve and Loki had taken up residence the night before. “That’s the bathroom for this room. Tony keeps them pretty well stocked with things that one might need if they were staying here. Do you want one of us to help you in any way? Shaving? A cleaner haircut?”

Steve tensed again before glancing around the room. He then hesitantly pointed to James as a way of answering Bruce’s questions. James gave a quick, yet small smile in return, “’Course I’ll help Stevie. Just like old times… yeah?”

Steve just shrugged in answer. When it looked like Steve wasn’t going to go into the room first, James pushed open the door and walked in. He set the clothes on the toilet and turned towards his old friend who was closing the door behind them. He took another sip of the broth before hesitantly putting it on the counter away from the sink. He wasn’t looking at James and his shoulders were slightly hunched, a look James knew quite well.

“Hey Stevie, it’s ok. If you would rather, I can wait outside with Bruce.” James said trying to help Steve start to relax some. Steve just took a deep breath before letting it out and forcing himself to relax. He shook his head no in response to his friend’s question.

“So, where should we start? Shave?” James asked gently. Steve looked like he had taken a knife to his beard when James had first seen him, but that had been a couple days ago, and it was growing back in haphazardly. He pulled open on the drawers, looking for the shaving supplies. He found a fancy electric razor and a couple of handheld ones. He picked one of the manual ones, not sure how Steve would feel about an electric one and some shaving cream. He gave Steve the cream while he filled the sink with water. 

Surprisingly Steve only hesitated a moment before he figured out the shaving cream container on his own. He began applying it to the areas he wanted to shave, using the mirror as he did. James didn’t comment when Steve only did parts of his neck, not wanting to remove his jacket or turtleneck to go too low. When he was finished with the cream, James handed him a towel for his hands, then demonstrated how to use the razor on his own cheek, without actually touching it to his face. Again, Steve only hesitated a moment before starting to shave on his own. His moves were a little shaky and his lines weren’t quite straight, but it was a good first attempt. 

The whole process took about ten minutes before Steve seemed happy with the shave job. James didn’t comment, just gave a few words of encouragement here and there throughout.

“Alright Stevie, shower or bath next?” James moved over to the tub to get the supplies ready for Steve. Steve was looking at the tub like it was going to swallow him whole. Clearly it had been a long while since he had a full-on bath or shower- James wasn’t sure what they had used in space, if anything. After a moment of consideration James settled on a bath, it was what they had used growing up and would be something familiar for Steve. He didn’t fill the tub all the way up, just about halfway. “How about a bath then. Like old times, yeah? Is the temperature alright? We can make it hotter or colder if you want.”

James was keeping the water on the hotter side, in an effort to bring up Steve’s body temperature, since Bruce said it was dangerously low. Not too hot to be overwhelming though. It was a fine line. Steve slowly brought his hand under the stream to test the temperature, pulling back after the first touch a strange look in his eyes. James was about to say he could turn the temperature down a little when Steve gave a small twitch of his lips into a smile and brought his hand back to the stream of water, fingers curling into the warmth.

When the water was to the depth he wanted, James turned off the faucet, making sure to show Steve how the thing worked (Tony liked to make everything with the highest luxury in mind, which could be mind boggling if you didn’t know what all the different levers and such could do), in case Steve wanted more water or if the water got cold. He left the washcloth on the side of the bath and pulled a few towels onto the seat of the toilet before straightening.

“Do you want me to stay?” James asked quietly, although he was pretty sure the answer would be no.

Sure enough, Steve shook his head no in response. James nodded, “Alright. I’ll just be right outside with Bruce. Take your time okay? We have all day.”

James made his way outside the bathroom, while Steve stood unmoving on his spot. After James closed the door behind himself, Steve waited only a moment before walking over to the door and pushing the locking button. He then moved away from the door, not sure if James or Bruce would try to investigate the move. When nothing happened for a minute Steve began slowly undressing. His ribs were still bruised, so it was a little hard to remove his shirt and jacket, but he managed. The pain was pretty faint compared to other things that had happened and it didn’t bother him very much at all.

When he was finished undressing Steve slowly sank into the tub, the water felt wonderful and he took a couple of minutes to just bask in the warmth before he started to wash up. This totally beat the lake he had used near the ruins and the sink he found in the rubble during the invasion.

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“He’s been in there a while… do you think he’s okay?” James was about ready to knock the door to the bathroom down at this point. Steve had been in there for over a half hour and even with his super hearing he couldn’t decipher any sounds coming from the small room. Bruce had to hold him back when Steve had locked the door after James went out, explaining why his friend had probably done it.

“I’m sure he’s fine.” Said Bruce in as soothing a voice as he could find; although if he was being honest, he was also beginning to worry about the lack of noise coming from the room. Jarvis’ privacy settings only allowed for them to know that Steve was in the bathroom and there were no changes to any of his vitals.

There was a bit of shuffling from near the inside of the bathroom door before the handle was carefully unlocked and pulled open. Steve saw how close Bruce and James were, the duo trying to listen in without actually putting their ears up to the door, and froze in place, not leaving the bathroom. With James seeing his friend again in one piece (he was a little concerned with the lack of noise he had heard), he relaxed and stepped a little bit away from the door. Bruce copying the move only a beat later.

Steve was wearing the clothes from James and the Avengers noticed that it was indeed a little big on his smaller frame. The sweats went over his feet some, but not enough to be bothersome, the drawstring pulled as tight as it would go. The sweater was definitely big, especially around the arms and shoulders, where it was pushed up some to not cover Steve’s hands. The turtleneck portion of the sweater was unrolled all the way up to Steve’s chin. It couldn’t be too comfortable, especially if he had a wound there that he wouldn’t let them take a look at, but the others didn’t comment. He was holding his other clothes, a now empty mug and a pair of scissors. James realized the scissors were probably there so one of them could even out his hair since it was so haphazardly cut.

“Need some help with your hair Steve?” Bruce asked, but made no move to take the scissors. Steve gave a hesitant nod and held the scissors out towards James, whose lips twitched into another small smile as he took the item from his friend. “Just let me get a towel so we don’t get hair all over your clothes, okay?”

Steve nodded and moved back into the bathroom. “Here,” said Bruce, “let me take the mug and your old clothes. I’ll make sure they get washed and returned to you as soon as possible.”

There was a moment of hesitance in Steve, before he reluctantly turned over the items Bruce wanted. It was almost like he thought they wouldn’t actually be returned to him, but also thought compliance was necessary. Bruce gently handled the clothes, noticing the reluctance from Steve but choosing not to comment. When Steve turned back towards the bathroom, James was ready with a new towel. He directed Steve to the toilet seat, so he could get a good view of his whole head.

“I’m gonna have to buzz cut this Steve, since it’s so uneven. That okay with you?” James hardly had the sentence finished before Steve was nodding along with what he said. /Huh. No long hair for him. Wonder why?/ Thought James.

It seemed Steve’s time in space had him developing all kinds of odd ticks. Maybe a Shield Specialist wouldn’t be as bad as he originally thought. 

James carefully began the process of evening out Steve’s hair as best he could. The ex-Soviet wasn’t much of a barber, but he took his time and made it look semi decent. He also didn’t mention any of the angry looking scars on Steve’s scalp. Just more pieces to add to the growing puzzle.

When Steve’s hair was as even as James could get it, he suggested the three of them head up to the commons floor to relax. James noticed Steve’s hesitant glance towards the new art supplies, “Go ahead and bring your sketchbook Stevie, maybe you can get Bruce to pose for you?”

Bruce rolled his eyes at James but didn’t deny it. He had taken Steve’s clothes to the laundry shoot, with specific instructions to Jarvis on their handle and return. The A.I assured Bruce he would monitor everything carefully. Bruce also went to his lab on the way to the commons floor to grab his Tablet. Perhaps he could get Steve to answer a couple more questions about his time in space.

James and Steve were already in the media room when Bruce was finished with his side trip to the lab. He noticed that Steve was doing a sweep of the room, much like he had the first night in the Tower. He settled on the wall right next to the ceiling to floor windows. He seemed tense, but neither Bruce nor James could figure out why. James looked like he was about to go sit near Steve, but Bruce motioned towards the couches a little way off from where Steve was positioned. It would be better to not crowd Steve if he were uncomfortable. At least on a couch or chair James would be able to be close, without being too close.

The three of them settled in for some drawing (Steve), and reading (James stole the book Natasha had left on the coffee table, Bruce from his tablet) as they waited for the others to finish in the Penthouse.

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Loki followed Tony all the way up to his Penthouse. He remembered the room and the memories surrounding it were strong, even with the scepter’s control over him. Tony made a grand gesture, “Well here we are! Get a move on then Gandalf, magic this stuff fixed.”

Thor and Natasha leaned against a wall out of the way, neither saying anything just there to make sure everything went the way it was supposed to. Loki refrained from rolling his eyes at Tony as he surveyed the damage done to the room. He figured it was better to start with the window, so he went over there and pulled down the plastic keeping out the elements. He peered down to the ground, head sticking out the window for a moment before reaching his hand out, palm facing down.

Natasha and Tony were confused about what he was doing, but Thor seemed to know what Loki was thinking. Sure enough, within minutes pieces of glass began racing up the side of the building to hover near Loki’s hand from where they had fallen in Tony’s window dive. When Loki had a large portion of the glass from the original window collected, he brought his hand and head back into the room, shifting his hand around and moving the glass back into place like a giant clear puzzle. There was a look of concentration on Loki’s face as he worked and Tony looked like he was going to say something to the God, but Thor shook his head.

Tony sighed, but restrained from making a comment. It took almost forty-five minutes before the window was back in place. At some point during the process it began raining outside, but none of the water made it into the room. Loki was sweating a little, but when he was satisfied with the glass’ arrangement he closed his fist, which had the whole window glow for a minute solid. When he opened his fist, the window stopped glowing and was once again a solid piece of glass.

“Huh.” Was all Tony could say for a minute. He went over and touched the glass, “Jarvis, did you get all that?”

“Yes, Sir. The data is on your personal server in the workshop.” Came Jarvis’ prompt reply.

Loki wiped some of the sweat off his brow, taking a moment to breathe deeply and steady himself. If the Avengers noticed, none of them commented, for which Loki was grateful. He didn’t like looking weak around people, especially not his brother.

“This is fascinating,” said Tony, who was looking over the glass, touching it, tapping it, and knocking against it.

Loki recoiled into the wall with Tony’s words; memories of Thanos saying the same thing as he pushed and pushed Loki to his limits and beyond started flowing through Loki’s mind like water. His breathing picked up as the memories took over.

“Thor,” said Natasha, the first to notice something was wrong with Loki. Both Tony and Thor looked over with her head nod toward where Loki was curled into the wall, hands balling into fists, eyes far away.

Thor walked over to where Loki was, but stopped a few steps away giving his brother space. He knew from past experience that Loki’s magic would strike out if Loki felt threatened when he had nightmares, and Thor would treat this the same way. “Loki, brother,” Thor began, “we are on Midgard, not the planet you fell to off the Bifröst…”

Thor quietly spoke to Loki, like one would a spooked animal. It took another half hour before Loki uncurled his fists and took a deep breath, seemingly coming back to himself. He looked around the room in confusion, before everything came back at once. 

“I… apologize. I didn’t mean to get lost in my mind.” Was all he said. Tony shrugged and handed him a glass of water, for once not saying anything. Natasha was still leaning against the same spot on the wall, filing her nails and seemingly uninterested in what was happening around the room. Loki knew it was an illusion, but he appreciated the thought from her.

Thor stepped away again, giving his brother more space. He was about to say something when Jarvis interrupted them, “Sir, there is a situation on the common floor. Your presence is required immediately.”

“What’s up J?” Said Tony, already making his way to the elevator, “more aliens? Shield? The Zombie Apocalypse?”

“No sir,” said Jarvis, “Captain Rogers broke through a window with his fist. When Sergeant Barnes and Doctor Banner tried to restrain him, he began fighting back. Doctor Banner has attempted to remove himself from the altercation before he transforms and someone gets hurt.”

##### End Chapter 5


	6. Of Meltdowns and Mending

Loki was in the elevator before Jarvis even stopped talking. The others following close behind. 

The media room was in chaos when the three of them arrived. “-eve! Steve! Hey, calm down! I don’t want to hurt you!” James shouts coming through to the elevator as it arrived on the floor. 

James was trying to get a hold of Steve, who was fighting him off with a feral look in his eyes. Several pieces of furniture were toppled over, and Bruce was off to the kitchen, staying out of the way and trying to calm his breathing before he transformed. James had a cut on his right arm that was bleeding, and several bruises on his face but he didn’t seem to notice. Every time he tried to get a hold of Steve, it would escalate Steve’s anger further, causing more of a backlash from his friend. 

“Sergeant! Step away from him.” Loki’s tone was commanding but not forceful or angry. 

“I can’t!” Said James as he dodged another punch, “He’s going to hurt himself further!” 

“You don’t understand. You need to step away from him or he will become more dangerous. Move away.” Loki was moving closer, but a hand kept the others at a distance. Tony skirted the edge of the room, making his way to the kitchen where Bruce was calming down, “You okay Brucie-Bear?” 

Bruce nodded, but didn’t trust himself to speak yet. 

“James, do as he says!” Said Natasha, a knife in one hand and a gun in the other. She was willing to see if Loki could calm Steve down, but she was also prepared with a tranquilizer if need be. 

“Please Shield Brother, trust Loki’s instincts in this matter and remove yourself from your friend’s reach before you get seriously hurt.” Thor also looked ready to intervene but was willing to see if Loki could calm the original Captain down. 

With a growl of frustration James hop stepped back to a wall, further away from where Steve was currently standing. Steve didn’t follow his move though; he stayed in his spot, watching warily for a moment before turning his attention back towards the window. There was some kind of force field covering the window, but Steve didn’t seem to care, he began pounding and throwing the side of his body against it- sparks of electricity flying off the field and probably sending jolts of electricity into Steve with each hit. The jolts weren’t very high voltage, just a bare sting as a warning to stay away because the glass was broken. Tony and Jarvis had been working on it over the last few days as a way to counterbalance what happened in the Penthouse. 

“Steven.” Said Loki carefully when it looked like James was going to intervene again. Steve didn’t acknowledge Loki, which was a first for the Avengers since the pair seemed so in tune with one another. Loki glanced down at the sketchbook Steve had dropped before punching the window. It was the city skyline from where he was sitting, with the rain falling on everything in big drops. The God of Mischief suddenly knew what Steve was trying to do. Fortunately, he could handle the magic he was about to do pretty easily. 

Without another word Loki waved his hand across the window, changing the scene from the rainy city skyline to a sunny open field. It took a few minutes, but Steve slowly stopped punching and hitting against the glass. He let out a deep breath; eyes clearly upset and began tapping against his leg in the same fashion the Avengers were so used to seeing from him. He moved so he was back against the wall and slid down it back to the floor, knees drawn up to his chest. He grabbed his sketchbook, putting it against his knees and just looked at the picture, one hand tapping against the page softly. A look of defeat and sorrow was in his features and posture. 

Slowly the Avengers began putting their various weapons away, and the Science Bro’s came out of the kitchen. Loki sent a nervous glance towards Bruce, but when he saw that Bruce was still in control he relaxed marginally. 

“The hell was that all about?!?!” James didn’t shout, but it was pretty close. 

“I’d like to know the same thing.” Said Tony, while the others just nodded in agreement. 

Loki felt a headache coming on and it wasn’t just from the over extension of his magic. All he said by way of explanation was, “it’s raining.” 

The Avengers just looked at him with blank uncomprehending faces. 

Loki fought the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. Instead he just sighed and elaborated quietly, “He spent the last seventy years in space. On a ship, or crater, neither of which were the flourishing examples of seasonal changes or weather in general.” 

Natasha was the first to understand what Loki meant. She let out a startled curse in Russian, looking over at Steve mournfully. The boys were a little bit slower on the uptake, but they caught on within seconds of Natasha. They all looked pretty upset with Loki’s explanation. James looked like he was two seconds away from pulling Steve into a huge hug and never letting him go. Fortunately, Natasha was close enough to stop him from moving, with a gentle hand on his elbow. Steve was hunching down seeming to ignore all of them, but his body was as tense as a bow. Clearly, he understood they were talking about him, and didn’t want to see the pity on all the Avenger’s faces. 

“I’m a little tired,” said Loki, “perhaps Steven and I can return to our room now.” 

They all knew a retreat when they saw it but didn’t comment. “Come brother, I will take you both back to your room.” 

“I’ll get some more food together for you both,” said Bruce, “Tony and I want to try some different recipes for Steve, see if he can stomach some juices or something similar.” 

Loki waited until Steve stood up with his pencil and sketchbook before moving towards the elevator to follow Thor. Food sounded wonderful right now, and Steve needed a chance to regroup after what just happened. The old Captain had his shoulders hunched as he walked, like he was trying to hide from everyone. Steve flinched away from James when he put his hand out towards him. 

As the elevator closed on the three of them Natasha spoke up, “Jarvis, can you black out the window in Loki and Steve’s room?” 

“Of course Ms. Romanoff. It shall be done immediately.” Came the A.I’s swift reply. 

James was frozen in place staring at the spot where his friend entered the elevator. Without warning he spoke up quietly, “he tried to show us.” 

The others looked up and waited for James to continue, “with the drawing. Bruce- he was trying to tell us about the rain with his drawing. But we didn’t get it. I didn’t get it- didn’t connect the dots…” 

“This wasn’t your fault James,” said Natasha quietly. “You didn’t force him to put his hand through the window.” 

“But I should’ve guessed! There have been clues all over the place! The way he keeps tracking the sun… He did it in the ruins and on the quinjet!! I bet he was even doing it this morning before we brought them breakfast!! I should’ve realized…” James’ eyes were connecting the dots, all the clues he had missed in the last few days. He was getting a little frantic in his worry and was pacing in a tight circle. 

“Hey, you’re not the only one who didn’t see this RoboCap. We all missed the signs. This wasn’t just on you.” Said Tony, trying to get him to calm down some. 

“But I’m his friend!! I’ve known him since we were practically **babies**!!!!” James didn’t seem to want to give up the blame on this one. He had one hand raking through his hair, and the other opening and closing into a fist as he moved. 

Without warning James turned and went to the elevator. “Hey! Where are you going?!” Said Tony, ready to stop him if need be. 

“My room.” Was the short reply. 

“Try not to break any more walls please! There’s enough damage to the Tower right now!!” Tony said as the doors to the elevator closed. 

“He needs a little time,” said Natasha, but she looked like she wanted to follow him anyway. Instead she began fixing some of the furniture around the room, trying to keep herself from going upstairs after James. 

Bruce and Tony nodded in agreement before moving to the kitchen. Bruce located a juicer and the pair began brainstorming different things that Steve might be able to drink. 

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“Do you require anything Brother?” Asked Thor as the three of them made their way back towards Loki and Steve’s shared room. 

Loki shook his head in response, “we will be fine… Thank you.” 

Thor nodded and left them at their door, “I will be just down the hall if you decide differently.” 

The pair stood in the middle of their room, seemingly waiting for the door to close behind Thor. Steve glanced at the blacked-out window, shoulders hunching down even further. He moved to his spot on the floor from the previous night and settled in, tapping against the sketchbook as he did. 

Loki nodded to Steve then moved to the bed. He hesitated for a moment before sitting on the edge. When nothing happened after a moment, he moved to a lying position. Within moments he was sound asleep, safe in the knowledge that Steve was keeping watch and would wake him from a nightmare, or if someone was coming to the room. 

Steve set down his sketchbook and picked up the StarkTablet given to him by Tony. He ran his hands over the screen and experimented with different letter combinations. Every now and again he would glance up, looking around the room before nodding to himself and continuing to play around with the tablet. He figured out how to set the volume to practically mute, so he wouldn’t disturb Loki with his experimenting. 

For a little over an hour, the only sounds in the room were Loki’s even breathing from the bed and Steve’s StarkTablet’s Irish voice. Steve looked up from the tablet, head tilted to the side slightly, before nodding and standing up. He carefully walked over to Loki and touched a finger to Loki’s hand. In an instant Loki was awake, eyes open, but still laying on the bed. Steve glanced at the door then back to Loki, his hand tapping against Loki’s wrist. Loki nodded then sat up before making his way to their shared bathroom. 

Steve waited a beat then took the Starktablet and made his way to the door. He wasn’t actually sure if he would be let out or not, but he was going to try anyway. Slowly he pushed the door open, and when nothing happened, he moved out into the hall. Jarvis didn’t ask him to return to his room, so he took that as a good sign. Clutching the Tablet, he slowly made his way across the hall to James’ room. Steve gently knocked on the door and waited, hoping his friend would answer. If not, he would leave the tablet on the floor and return to his room. 

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James spent most of the time in his room pacing, clearly upset with himself for missing the signs of Steve’s distress earlier. After a while he just laid on the bed, not really sleeping but staring sullenly at the ceiling. He was trying to figure out the best way to apologize to his friend for what happened earlier and was coming up short on possible solutions. 

A gentle knock on his door startled him out of his musing, but not the mood he was in. He contemplated not answering, figuring it was Natasha or Bruce, probably trying to get him to see reason. 

However Jarvis’, “Sergeant, I would strongly recommend you answer your door,” had his interest peaked. 

/Perhaps Natasha threatened to murder me if I didn’t…/ With that thought he rolled off the bed and made his way to the door. 

He was not prepared for the sight of Steve on the other side, clutching the StarkTablet Tony had given him. 

“Stevie… what?” Was all James could say. 

Steve just pressed the speaker button on the Tablet, making sure the volume was up a little more than it had been so his friend could hear it. The Irish voice came out of the speaker, “I’m sorry for scaring you earlier...” 

“No, it was my fault. I should’ve realized what you were doing…” Steve was already tapping away at the tablet. 

“It wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t of known that I was going to have such a strong reaction to the rain… Bucky, please don’t beat yourself up over this.” 

James made a noise; no one had called him “Bucky” since the ‘40’s. Everyone in this century went with his first name, especially when he was getting his brain together. Then it just stuck. Without warning James was wrapping Steve up in a giant bear hug. His anger over the earlier situation melting away with hearing Steve use his old nickname. 

Steve tensed when he saw his friend move, but relaxed into the hug after a moment, letting Bucky hold him for as long as he needed. It was his own way of apologizing for his freak out earlier. 

“Hey, Punk. Maybe we can go out onto the roof, or Tony’s Penthouse deck later for a while.” Said James, realizing this would be a good way to help his old friend. Steve gave a small nod to the suggestion but didn’t want to put too much hope into the thought. Hope was a hard thing to come by for him, especially with everything that had happened. 

“Sirs,” said Jarvis after a moment, “I wanted to inform you that the others were on their way up with a few large trays of food.” 

James gave Steve a final squeeze before letting go. The pair then made their way back to Steve’s shared room with Loki, the God standing near the door quietly. Steve gave him a small smile in greeting, which was returned briefly. The pair made their way back over to the wall, sitting together on the floor in a repeat of their position from yesterday. James looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself. There was probably a reason Steve was not using furniture, and he would share that in his own time. James remembered having a similar problem when he was regaining himself after the Red Room and that was what kept him from commenting. 

James chose the spot against the blacked-out windows and was just sliding to the floor when Bruce, Natasha and Tony came knocking on the door. Tony adding a mile a minute commentary as he did so, “Alright kids!! Food’s here, everyone eat up.” 

It was still a little early for the Avengers to be eating lunch, but with the super metabolisms of Bruce and James, along with Thor being a God, they brought enough food for everyone to share. One tray was specifically for Loki and Steve, the other for the Avengers to share. Thor came in right behind his teammates, “Ah the glory of a delicious meal to share amongst friends.” 

His comment got an eye roll from Tony and a bemused smile from Natasha and James. Loki realized that his brother was saying certain things like that for those specific reactions from his Midgardian teammates and hid a smile of his own. He was still weary of his brother and his intentions, so he made sure the others didn’t see the twitch of his lips. 

“Alright Space Cap, Bruce and I came up with a bunch of different smoothies that have a similar texture to the broth you’ve been eating thus far. Each one has been carefully vetted for maximum healing properties and general healthiness. Feel free to try them all and finish off the ones you like the best.” Tony’s mile a minute mouth was moving even as he was unloading tall glasses towards the original super soldier. Bruce was passing Loki a plate of sandwiches full of meats, cheeses, and veggies. 

Steve’s eyebrows were rising to his hairline the longer Tony went on about each smoothie. At one point he quickly glanced to the far wall near the bathroom, before turning his attention back to the inventor. His hand was tapping against his leg, and he was only a little tense with Tony’s proximity. 

Finally, Tony finished speaking with a dramatic look and hand wave, “Well? What are you waiting for??” 

Steve’s eyes glanced over to James, then Bruce quickly, before settling back on the smoothies. With a careful hand he picked up the closest smoothie, sniffing it a moment before taking a sip. Steve made a disgusted face, and James nearly choked on his bit of sandwich from the look. He was having trouble with the whole breathing, laughing and eating at the same time thing- so Natasha went over and non-to-gently pounded on his back. 

Purely to help her friend catch his breath of course. 

When he could sort of breath again James gasped out, “Ha! Oh God, I haven’t seen that face since the kimchi incident of ’38.” 

The glare Steve sent him was totally worth it for James. 

Bruce had the decency to look apologetic; “There was actually kimchi in that one…” 

Which sent James into another round of laughter. 

Steve put the glass as far away from his person as he possibly could and rolled his eyes at James. He was secretly happy he got his friend to laugh, but he wasn’t going to actually let him know that anytime soon. 

A little more warily this time, Steve chose a glass that was red in color. He raised an eyebrow at Bruce, figuring on an explanation from him would be better than Tony’s jumble of words from earlier. 

“Mostly fruit juices, and some milk with protein powder.” Said Bruce, seeming to know what Steve wanted. 

This time there was no disgusted face. Steve waited a beat before smiling and taking another sip of it, before placing it near the wall next to him. Bruce made a mental note, to use that recipe again. 

There were three more smoothies on the tray, one of which got another disgusted face- but not up to par with the first one, more so because it was too sweet- which Loki communicated for the group as a way of explanation. The other two got put on the wall with the red one. 

Steve picked up the red one and began sipping at that. Now that he was getting fed on a more regular basis, he could feel his metabolism begin working to heal some of the damage on his body. He wondered briefly if this regular feeding would help heal **everything** wrong with him, but again didn’t dwell on it too long. Hope could be a very dangerous thing. 

Out of nowhere Natasha’s phone let out a chirping sound. She was up and out of the room before anyone could blink. 

Steve and Loki shared one of their creepy telepathy moments, before Steve gave a small smile towards the God. Neither of them elaborated on what just happened, and the others were wondering if they should ask. 

Steve was able to finish the first smoothie quicker than he had the broth from his last two meals. After everyone was finished eating the Avengers weren’t too sure what to do with themselves. 

“Well,” said Tony, “the bonding time has been fun and all, but I have things that need to get done in the workshop.” He was up and out the door almost as fast as Natasha had been a moment before. 

“Would you mind if I did another check up Steve?” Asked Bruce calmly, “I just want to make sure you didn’t do too much damage to yourself earlier.” 

The super soldier narrowed his eyes slightly then pointed to James as well. Bruce looked between the pair before nodding, “I agree he should also be looked over.” 

Steve sent James a devious smile. 

“Punk.” 

Steve typed out a quick, “Jerk,” on the tablet. The pair of them both twitched their lips into small smiles at the same time. Bruce just raised an eyebrow at them. “I’ll just go get my bag then.” Said Bruce, who grabbed the trays and moved towards the door. 

“Brother,” said Thor suddenly with a neutral tone, “I was hoping to have a word with you in private.” 

Loki became tense before Steve gently touched his arm, fingers tapping against the God’s appendage. Loki looked wary at his brother before glancing over at Steve, who was still tapping his fingers against the God’s arm. 

With a sigh Loki nodded, “If we must,” before using the wall to help himself get up and gesturing for Thor to lead the way. 

The pair made their way out of the room in silence. 

By the time Bruce made it back to the room with his bag, Steve had finished about half of the second of the three smoothies. The super soldier pushed the two remaining glasses away to where Loki was sitting earlier so they wouldn’t get knocked into. Bruce figured he would treat this check up the same as the last, where he took everything out of his bag he would need, then explained/demoed the procedures on James. The only difference was this time James would also be receiving some treatments as well. 

“Hey Bruce,” said James while the doctor was unpacking the bag, “maybe we could all go out on Tony’s balcony deck when we are done here.” 

The two Avengers shared a brief look before Bruce responded, “I’m sure that would be fine. Right Jarvis?” 

“Sir has not given me instructions saying otherwise Doctor Banner.” Said Jarvis. 

Steve was looking between the pair a little warily, before looking around the room again, his fingers tapping against the floor next to his foot. He didn’t give any indication that he was for or against the chance to go outside either. James and Bruce shared another look and fought the urge to look around the room as well. The three of them were the only ones in here at the moment, and they couldn’t figure out why Steve’s eyes kept sweeping the room like there were more people around. 

Obviously, this was another nervous tick from his time in space. 

“Alright,” said Bruce, “Shall we begin?” 

James and Steve both nodded and the pair were both examined by Bruce. Neither soldier had too much damage from the morning’s altercation and James was well into the healing process. Bruce was concerned with the state of Steve’s ribs, but the soldier either didn’t seem to notice, or care that they were more bruised than they had been the day before. Nothing had really changed with Steve’s body temperature, or pulse, but Bruce wasn’t expecting too much at this point. Steve needed to be on a more stable eating schedule in order to get his energy higher so the serum could kick in better to heal him. 

Around the time Bruce was finishing the exam, Loki came back into the room, Thor nowhere in sight. Steve gave him a worried glance, but Loki just shook his head in denial, not saying anything, and sitting on the edge of the bed. Steve nodded and brought his attention back to Bruce and James. 

“That’s everything,” said Bruce, “and you both check out about as well as I expected you to. Steve, can you finish the second smoothie and we can all head out to the Penthouse Deck for a while?” 

Steve narrowed his eyes, but obediently picked up the glass from before. Within about five minutes the smoothie was gone, and Steve was placing the empty glass back on the floor. 

Bruce and James nodded, before getting up off the floor and making their way towards the door. 

“Are you coming?” Asked James when it looked like Steve wasn’t going to go with them. 

Steve looked between the pair and Loki, the two of them doing their telepathy thing before Loki shook his head and nodded towards the bed. Steve seemed to understand and nodded towards the blacked-out windows before moving to follow James and Bruce. 

/The two of them have the weirdest connection…/ thought Bruce as he watched the pair interact. /This is beyond fascinating…/ 

Thankfully Bruce didn’t share his thoughts with the others, because it would’ve caused an even bigger incident than the one from that morning. 

As the door shut behind the three of them Loki slouched forward, hands clasping between his knees and head bowed. He wanted to hate his brother, with the same ferocity as he did his so-called father… but a part of him couldn’t do it. 

He needed time to think and work through everything on his own. Later he would bring it all up with Steve to get his opinion, since he knew Steve had similar feelings of anger towards Thor. 

Loki moved so he was sitting with his back against the headboard of the bed and let himself drift into his own mind. He let his thoughts wander and tried to come to an agreement with himself. 

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Thor brought Loki to an unused guest room as “neutral” territory for them. The God of Thunder went right to the point, looking Loki in the eye as he spoke; subtle was never a thing for him. “You were right about me not being ready to be King. In fact, I still truly don’t think I’m ready for such a role even now.” 

Loki drew his lips into a thin line but didn’t comment in return. Thor took that as a sign to keep going. 

“Arrogance was not my only flaw that needed to be addressed, as I didn’t think to look further into Father’s word on your activities. I am sorry that I have failed you so thoroughly Brother, and I will understand if you never want to speak to me again. I will however try to make up for my past mistakes to the best of my abilities.” 

Part of Loki wanted to believe his brother. “I don’t want to return to Asgard,” was all he could say. 

Thor nodded, “Indeed, if I were in your position, I would not want to return either.” 

The God of Thunder paused for a moment, “What of Mother? Surely you have no quarrel with her?” 

Loki looked away suddenly tense. He did miss his mother but wasn’t going to express that in front of his brother. However, he really did want to know how she was doing. 

In the end, he stayed silent. 

Thor noticed the hesitance in his brother’s body language and didn’t push the matter further. 

Instead he shared a few stories of his mother’s activities while Loki was away. There were very few truly happy moments for her with Loki being missing, but some instances were humorous and made her smile. “Mother was given the same information as I on your activities Brother. If she had known what was happening there wouldn’t have been a force in the Universe that would’ve stopped her and I from coming to get you.” 

Loki could feel himself starting to believe what his Brother was saying. He needed time to think. To see if it was too late for him to trust what Thor was saying, or close himself off from his brother. 

“I would like to return to my room now.” Loki said quietly. He refused to look Thor in the eye but did keep watch with his peripheral vision. 

“Of course Brother. I hope with time that you might find a way to forgive me my wrongs against you.” Said Thor, as he moved to open the door to the hallway. 

Without thinking Loki said, “Careful. Hope can be a very dangerous thing,” as he was exiting the room. 

The God of Mischief didn’t look back at his brother to see his eyes widening in realization of how deep Loki’s wounds ran. He merely stayed in the hall while Loki slowly made his way back to his shared room. The God of Thunder vowed then and there he would find a way to help his brother believe his sincerity. 

It was just a matter of how. 

Thor was lost in his thoughts when the shared room’s door opened again, this time with Bruce, James and Steven exiting. James noticed Thor first, “Thor, want to come with us to the Penthouse deck for a while? We are going to steal some time on it while Tony is in his workshop. 

Thor nodded absently and made his way over to the trio. The group of four then made their way to the elevator and Jarvis took them up to the Penthouse without needing to be told. 

As the elevator opened again Steve was the first one out. He clearly had a problem with the small space, but there was little way around that because the stairway doors were programmed to open into the stairwell and not the other way around. 

Steve looked around the room for a minute; clearly interested in something he saw from the way he was moving around the room. There was little pattern to his movements though, so the others were a little confused about whatever held his attention. 

James started to make his way to the deck’s sliding French Doors, but stopped from a sudden exhale of breath from Steve and an alarmed sound from Bruce. He turned to see Steve crouched next to the crater the Hulk smashed Loki into. He was carefully touching the edge of it with his right hand, the other tapping against his leg at a pretty fast tempo. 

Bruce looked like he was going to apologize for what the Hulk did, but Steve just looked up at him with a small genuine smile. It was the first time that look was directed at someone other than James, which left Bruce feeling confused yet happy. 

Steve tapped the floor with two fingers of his right hand, and then tapped his temple near his eyes, not breaking eye contact with the scientist. It took the scientist a moment, but he suddenly understood what Steve was saying. 

Loki had been under the influence of the scepter, just like Clint had been. This meant that the Hulk’s “smashing” of the God had done what was needed to break the scepter’s hold over him. 

/The Other Guy was able to help…?/ The scientist pushed the thought away before it could take root. The Hulk was not trying to help. He was just releasing his anger on the God who had started this whole thing. 

Steve looked like he wanted to say more but realized after a moment the StarkTablet and his sketchbook were both still in his room. He glanced at Bruce and must’ve seen something in his features that stopped him from trying to communicate more, because he then turned towards James and started hesitantly walking towards his position near the doors. The rain had stopped at some point, but it was still pretty cloudy outside. Steve wasn’t sure if that meant their little excursion would be ended or not, but he was willing to take a chance that it wasn’t. 

Steve could hear Loki’s voice in his head warning him against Hoping for anything. 

James motioned for the doors to slide open, which they did without question. James then stepped out onto the deck, clearing the way for Steve to carefully make his way out there as well. 

Steve stopped short of the door, watching them for a moment in their open position, glanced back at Bruce and Thor, the latter had moved over to the scientist and put a hand on his shoulder in support, and squared his own shoulders. Steve took a few quick steps, moving out onto the deck and moving away from James, who was still standing near the door. He let out a shaky breath as he looked around the deck at the city skyline, and up at the clouds. 

The original Cap barely noticed when Thor and Bruce moved out onto the deck, enjoying the city fresh air and view as well. The sounds of the clean up were harder to hear up here, but if Steve listened closely, he could make out what was happening below. He moved all around the deck and up to the railings trying to take in as much as he could before the others got bored and called it quits. 

However, Bruce and James were settling into the loungers set up for Pepper and Tony’s use (the pair figured the couple wouldn’t mind if the chairs were used while they hung out with Steve), and Thor had a sudden idea. He held out his hand like he was calling Mjolnir, simply waiting for his weapon to appear. If the others saw what he was doing, they didn’t comment. 

After a moment the elevator dinged, and Mjolnir came flying out of it and into Thor’s hand. Bruce made a mental note to ask Thor about how he commanded the hammer and got it to fly through the building like that without breaking anything. 

Steve heard the whoosh of air as the hammer got to Thor and turned just in time to see the God raise said weapon into the air, his eyes focused on the sky. Steve flinched back and took several steps away from the God, even though they were already pretty far apart on the deck. He suddenly flinched again when something wet landed on his forehead. Steve cautiously looked up and another wet drop landed in his eye. He blinked and drew his eyebrows together in confusion. When it suddenly started raining on the deck (Thor was controlling the storm and didn’t want to interfere with the clean up below), Steve realized what had happened. 

Steve was like a small child seeing snow for the first time. He smiled wide, trying to look up at the drops, but had to close his eyes from their onslaught. He raised his arms up then out then cupped together to catch the water, over and over again. Thor gently placed the hammer down, to be less threatening, but Steve didn’t even notice. 

His clothes were completely soaked through in minutes, but Steve didn’t care. He was just standing there enjoying the feel of the rain for the first time in so many years. 

James was content to stay on the loungers and watch his friend. He and Bruce were mostly sheltered from the rain with the umbrella between them, but they were still getting a little wet from the experience. Suddenly James frowned and got Bruce’s attention. He then gestured to where Steve was standing in the rain. Bruce didn’t see what James was gesturing at, until he looked up towards Steve’s face. 

The turtleneck James had given his friend had gotten a little heavy in the rain fall, causing the portion around his neck to start sagging down. Steve probably didn’t notice, since he was so focused on the weather, but if he had he would’ve done something about it. As it was Bruce could see a bandage covering the whole of his neck, but it had a bunch of dark red spots, following the same line as the cut that came up towards his chin. His neck also seemed a little swollen, especially where the blood was seeping into the bandage. 

Whatever was wrong with his neck had clearly been agitated, either from the incident that morning, or even how much Steve was turning his head, but the super soldier didn’t seem to notice. /Or…/ Thought Bruce, /the pain has become a standard feeling for him, and he has gotten used to it. / 

That thought was making Bruce a little anger, so he quickly moved onto other thoughts. He did glance back at Barnes, who had a very worried look on his face. The two shared a nod, both on the same page about the wound. They were going to get one of their two guests to explain it, one way or another, no matter what it took. James was looking pretty upset, even for him, and Bruce guessed his teammate might know more about the injury than he was letting on. 

Bruce made a mental note to talk to James about it later and see what his thoughts were. 

After about ten minutes Steve began shivering uncontrollably, even though he was trying to hide it. Thor took that as a cue to call off the rain, so very carefully he picked up his hammer and raised it up to the clouds. Within moments the rain stopped, and the clouds parted to show the sun again. Steve looked sad at the loss of the rain but didn’t make any other moves. He simply closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of the sun’s heat against his cold body. 

When the rain stopped, James moved back into the Penthouse and asked Jarvis where he could find a warm blanket, or towels for all of them. He grabbed a couple towels for everyone, but Jarvis also directed him to a fleece blanket for Steve. It would help warm him up after he dried off some. He tossed towels to his teammates, who took them and began drying off, and then made enough noise that Steve would hear his approach. Steve didn’t acknowledge his friend when he draped a towel around his shoulders, but he did grab the edges of the towel to keep it in place. 

James also got a better look at Steve’s neck injury and it was even worse up close. He didn’t say anything about it, because he was pretty sure it would set his friend off again. However, he did say, “Gotta dry off Stevie, or you’ll catch a cold. And we both know how THAT always turns out for you.” 

Steve gave James a halfhearted glare and an eye roll, but obediently began toweling off. James stepped away to give his friend a little privacy, and went over to Bruce, the pair talking softly enough that Steve wouldn’t hear what they were saying. 

They were discussing the neck wound, Bruce asking careful questions about the injury as quietly as possible, with James responding with as much detail as possible. Thor noticed the conversation and brought Steve’s attention towards him, “Steven, do not worry, I am sure we will have an opportunity to enjoy some rain showers again in the future.” 

Steve nodded and finished toweling himself somewhat dry, while also carefully readjusting his turtleneck. He was shivering much more noticeably, and his teeth began chattering almost in stereo with his body. Luckily Bruce and James had finished their conversation for the moment, and James quickly brought the fleece blanket over to his friend, taking the towel away after making sure he wasn’t dripping water anymore. Steve wrapped himself in the blanket right away, pulling it tight around his body. 

Bruce herded everyone back into the Penthouse towards the elevator, asking Jarvis to please turn the heat up a few degrees in Steve and Loki’s room. Jarvis did so right away and also informed the group that the clothes ordered for Steve and Loki had arrived and was on their way up to the guest floors. 

As the group made it back to the guest suites, they split going to their respective rooms to change. James suggested Steve get a hot shower to warm up a little more, since there were now clothes that he could wear. Steve opened the door to his and Loki’s shared room to find the God sitting against the wall, playing with the StarkTablet Tony had given Steve. Loki gestured to the dresser, “I’ve changed all the shirts to have high necks like the one you are wearing now.” 

The smile Steve sent him was full of gratitude, as he went over and grabbed some new clothes. Loki had also changed from his battle clothes, changing the original clothes into something that he was more used to. The shirt was green silk, while the pants were black. Within minutes Steve was in the bathroom, turning on the hot water and getting a quick shower to warm up some. He made it as quick as he could, knowing James might start to panic again if he was in too long like that morning. The towels hanging up were also pretty warm, courtesy of Jarvis, so when Steve went to dry off, he gave a small smile at the camera in the ceiling. Jarvis didn’t say anything, but Steve figured the A.I knew what Steve meant with the gesture. 

Within ten minutes Steve was back up against the wall near Loki, who offered his silent friend the StarkTablet back. Steve shook his head, left hand tapping against his leg. Loki nodded and went back to what he was doing, while Steve grabbed the other smoothie left over from that morning. He took a sip, smiling when he realized Loki had kept it at a cool temperature for him so it didn’t go bad. Steve’s body was getting used to having more food available, and he could feel the serum working as he sipped the smoothie. It meant he would need to start drinking more of these, but he was hesitant to ask their hosts. 

The Avengers overall seemed like they were okay with Loki and Steve, but the pair was still hesitant to ask for anything from them. Steve especially wasn’t going to try it after only one day. Loki had done it a few times, and it had turned out well for them, but Steve had also been with Thanos much longer than his God friend. Some things were just more ingrained. 

The smoothie was finished off much quicker than the others, and Steve leaned his head back against the wall. He knew Loki was keeping an eye out, which helped him relax enough to get some sleep. It had been a little longer than he normally went without sleep, but he knew his body would handle it fine. And now he also had Loki to watch out for him while he slept, making it easier for him to relax into the deep sleep his body needed. 

Jarvis must’ve let the Avengers know that Steve was sleeping, and probably monitoring said sleep with orders from Bruce. It was only about ten minutes after Steve woke up (he had slept for a little over an hour), that there was a knock on his door. Bruce, James and Thor were bringing more food for the pair, the same smoothies that Steve had liked that morning, and sandwiches packed with thick cuts of meat for Loki. The third tray was again piled with food for the team and within moments both Natasha and Tony were back in the room with them, the latter talking a mile a minute about some new breakthrough he was making with his newest suit design. 

Natasha had a much more peaceful look than she had the last few times the pair had seen her. Loki raised an eyebrow at her mood, clearly asking but also giving her an opportunity to keep whatever it was to herself. The Widow looked right at Loki, clearly expecting some kind of response from him, as she said, “Phil is doing better than the doctors expected. His injuries, which should have killed him, are actually healing and he is responding to all the treatments he is being given.” 

“Fascinating.” Was all Loki said to her unasked question. The others must’ve already received the news, as they were watching the interaction between the two without comment. Unfortunately for them Loki’s face gave nothing away. Yes, he had used a spell to help the Agent recover from the stabbing, but he also wasn’t going to admit that to them unless they specifically asked him. 

Loki and Natasha had a little staring contest/silent conversation with their eyes, neither backing down. Steve glanced between the pair, a small twitch of his lips the only thing giving away that he knew more than he was letting on. But, since the Avengers were watching Loki and Natasha, they missed the look on Steve’s face. After a moment both participants of the contest looked away at the same time. The Avengers weren’t quite sure what to make of it, but let it go for now. 

The rest of the meal was full of light banter and a running commentary from Tony on his ideas for the new suit. When Steve was finished eating, he just leaned back against the wall, watching the interactions around him. Loki also seemed content to listen and not add anything, the pair beginning to feel a little more like actual guests and not prisoners. 

Which is why neither Steve nor Loki was surprised when the next day, the feeling vanished and everything kind of went to hell. 

## -End Chapter 6-


	7. Where SHIELD Happens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's actually 14 chapters, because well... Math. XD

The following morning came much better than the previous few for the occupants of the Tower. As the Avengers sat and ate breakfast, they all realized it had only been a week since the invasion.

For all of them it felt like over a month. Bruce had brought up one more set of trays with food for the pair that evening, and everyone had again gathered in their guest’s room to eat dinner. The conversation was kept light, just like the one earlier that afternoon before everyone retired to do their own things for the evening. Natasha pulled James and Thor away to Spar, while Bruce and Tony went to do Science!

Loki and Steve had spent the night, after dinner, in their room much like they had the night before- with little sleep happening, no outward talking (since Tony was convinced they were being telepathic with each other and refused to admit it), or moving of any kind really. They had both stayed on the floor, seemingly claiming spots like a couple of kindergartners, not changing seats at all. Steve had spent the night drawing and Loki had continued playing on the StarkTablet. There were a couple of times where the God fell asleep but would suddenly jerk himself awake. At those times Steve’s hand would reach over and tap against Loki’s arm until said God relaxed back against the wall.

When Jarvis brought that up at breakfast, Tony having asked about the pair’s nighttime activities, Thor became concerned that his brother was having nightmares. However, before they could go further on that topic Jarvis’ voice came over the speaker, “Sir, I’m sorry to interrupt but Agent Hill from Shield is on the line. She wants to let you know that the Shield Doctor will be over at ten am to start seeing your guests and they need to be separated for their sessions.”

Tony looked like he wanted to argue but Jarvis continued before he could, “I’m sorry Sir, she has already hung up and my attempts to call back are being denied/unanswered.”

“Well booger.” Said Tony, as he started working out an algorithm to get through Shield’s Phone Lines in case they tried this again.

“Perhaps we can ask my Brother to finish the repairs to your House of Pent, that way Steven may have an opportunity to speak with the Shield Doctors alone. Then we can give Loki a break and allow him to speak with the doctor after lunch.” Thor’s plan was pretty sound, and the others thought it over a moment before agreeing.

When the Avengers brought the food trays up to the pair about ten minutes later, they also shared the news about the Shield Doctor’s visit. If either of them was rattled by the news, it didn’t show, as Steve quickly worked his way through four shakes, two new flavors and two flavors from the day before, and Loki ate another big plate of eggs, sausage and toast.

“So,” said Tony, “when Loki is done eating, we thought he could come finish the Penthouse repairs while Steve speaks to the Shield Shrink. Then you two could switch.”

In unison Steve and Loki just shrugged, not seeming to care either way about the visit. They were both acting extremely nonchalant about the idea of Shield’s visit, which should’ve sent warning bells blazing for the Avengers.

Unfortunately, the group missed the vibe the pair was giving off.

Before further comment could be made, Loki put his empty plate on the ground and moved to stand. It was almost ten, so he decided better to get started sooner rather than later. Like yesterday Tony and Thor accompanied him up to the Penthouse, where he took about an hour and a half fixing the God sized hole Hulk had made in the floor. Natasha stayed in the guest suite hall, ready to intercept the Shield Doctor and lead him or her to the pair’s room.

Within five minutes of Thor, Tony and Loki leaving the guest suits floor, Jarvis announced that the Shield Doctor was in the lobby, on his way up.

Bruce joined Natasha in the hall just as the elevator dinged and opened. A tall, pale brunette with thick glasses, and a toned body made his way onto the floor, barely glancing at the Avengers in the hall. He was holding a briefcase and Bruce stopped him before he entered the room, “Doctor Bruce Banner, nice to meet you…”

The psychologist glanced at Bruce with a bland look and flat voice, “Doctor Everetts.” 

“Look, Doctor Everetts, I need to inform you that Captain Rogers doesn’t actually speak. He will be typing out his answers on the StarkTabl-.” The other doctor cut off Bruce before he could finish his warning.

“If that is really the original Captain America.” The amount of disbelief in the Doctor’s voice was staggering, “If you will please find another place to be while we have the first session.” He then moved into the room before either Bruce or Natasha could say anything else.

The Shield doctor said something similar to James, who stormed out of the room a few minutes later, mouth in a tense line and eyes stormy with anger, “I don’t like that guy. Fury better get someone else to do this for any future sessions.”

The doctor closed the door behind James, a pointed look at the three of them to find somewhere else to be.

“Let’s go up to the common floor,” said Natasha, clearly communicating with her eyes that they would actually go across the hall into James’ room, but also use that as an excuse to listen in on the session. James seemed to get her meaning and was moving towards his room in a flash. 

The Widow almost rolled her eyes but restrained herself and nodded for Bruce to join them. Within minutes the three of them were setting up shop in James’ room, having Jarvis cue up the surveillance of Steve and Loki’s room. Strangely the A.I was not against the eavesdropping and quickly pulled up the live stream video. He had also dinged the elevator open at the approximate time it would’ve taken the three of them to get to it from Steve’s room and brought it up to the common floor.

After the doctor closed the door, he waited a moment to make sure the Avengers were not sitting outside of it listening in. When he was satisfied, he turned his attention to the room as a whole, taking everything in. There were two chairs set up with a small table between them, a dresser, end table and the bed. There were also two doors, one probably leading to a closet and the other a bathroom. 

The doctor did another sweep of the room, finally locating his first patient, who was seated against a wall, sitting on the floor near the windows; knees drawn up like a table for his sketchbook. He was drawing something and didn’t seem to be paying attention to the doctor at all.

The actuality of it though, was that Steve was hyper aware of the doctor’s presence. 

“Good morning.” Said Doctor Everetts in the same tone he used earlier. There was no reaction from Steve, who didn’t stop his drawing or even acknowledge the man standing near the door. If the Doctor was at all bothered by the lack of response he didn’t say, but his face spoke volumes.

Doctor Everett’s face became even blander, lips pulling into a fine line after a long minute of silence, “Perhaps it would be good for the two of us to sit in these chairs so we might have a chance to get to know one another.”

There was still no change in posture or reaction of any kind from Steve.

The doctor moved to a chair, placing his briefcase next to it on the floor before sitting in the chair and steeping his hands together in front of his chest. “So. You are the original Captain America yes? Steven Grant Rogers, born in the early nineteen hundreds and mysteriously vanishing off the Valkyrie in nineteen forty-three?”

Steve kept drawing, still not looking at the doctor.

There were a few moments of silence before the doctor tried again, “You know, if you refuse to talk to me then you will never get out of this room. You will be stuck here, unable to leave without heavily armed guards and in chains. But that can all be avoided if you just talk to me and explain what happened in the forties. Perhaps explain how you ended up working with the God of Lies himself in a plot to take over the Earth.”

Steve was acting like he couldn’t even hear the doctor. Even though he clearly could and was purposely ignoring him.

“How did you meet Loki? I mean, that must have been an interesting conversation to have. He surely must’ve forced you to work with him and the Chitauri. How did he go about doing that?” asked the doctor, in another attempt to get a reaction from Steve, who still didn’t even blink.

After another pause the doctor got up from the chair and started walking around the room towards Steve’s seated position. He didn’t stop walking until he was practically towering over Steve, who was suddenly very tense at the close proximity. In the room across the hall, Bruce was holding back James from going in there and bodily removing the Doctor from the room.

With an exhale of breath, Steve, still not looking up at the doctor at all, gently closed his sketchbook, placing it at the pencil on the floor right next to his side. His left hand began tapping against his leg and he forced himself to completely relax his posture but made no other move. The doctor made an intrigued noise, getting a good look at Steve who was still not acknowledging the man’s presence. “These are some interesting injuries you have…Captain. Were they done by Loki or someone else? Perhaps one of his imagined or unimagined allies?”

After a chance to think it over, the doctor decided to take a different route, to see if he could get a response from his new patient. 

“What do we have here? Hmm?” He then reached down towards the sketchbook, clearly intent on looking through it without Steve’s permission, but at the last second changed direction with his hand and moved in towards Steve’s chin, trying to get a hold of it like he could force Steve to look him in the eye.

However, when he was within millimeters of Steve’s face, said super soldier grabbed a hold of his collar, pulling with all his might and bashing the Doctor’s head into the wall above his seated position, right into a metal support pole that was behind the drywall. 

With the same hold, he pushed the doctor away, who somehow landed in one of the chairs across from Steve, toppling it backwards, the back of his head landing with another crack on the floor this time.

If cracking his forehead into a metal pole didn’t kill the Doctor, having his brains explode outwards from the second impact with the floor surely did.

Steve didn’t even glance at the doctor; just picked up his sketchbook again and continued where he left off like nothing had happened. The only tell that he was in distress over the Doctor’s close proximity was his lips pulling into an extremely fine line and the smallest hint of his left hand shaking where it was holding the sketchbook.

In James’ room the three Avengers were staring at the screen frozen in shock. Even Natasha, who was a master of her emotions and facial expressions, had her eyebrows up near her hairline at the sudden act of violence. Bruce’s jaw was somewhere around his knees.

“…the Fuck?!?” Said James finally; who got loose from Bruce and practically ran through the door, which Jarvis barely had open in time. The sprint got Bruce and Natasha moving again, the duo making it across the hall seconds behind James.

James barged into Steve and Loki’s room, the door slamming against the wall and almost coming back to smack James in the face, but a hand- Bruce’s, stopped it before it got too far.

Steve startled at the noise, dropping the sketchbook and looking up with tension running through his whole posture. James was coming right at him, and Steve started trying to become one with the wall, scrambling into the corner, clearly terrified of his best friend’s approach.

“James.” Natasha said his name suddenly with more force than she would normally use. It got James to stop moving and get an actual look at his friend, who was shaking in fear, eyes watching James wildly, and hands ready to block imagined blows. Natasha had a gun out and trained on Steve, no tranquilizers this time, and Bruce made his way over to the Shield doctor.

“He’s dead.” Said Bruce after maneuvering through the blood and brain splatter to double-check his pulse. Bruce stood up and warily turned his attention towards Steve, who still only had eyes for James since he was the closest and seemingly biggest threat.

“The HELL was that Steve?!” James wasn’t yelling, but his voice was raised louder than it normally was. Steve didn’t move from his curled-up spot.

Tony, Thor and Loki came out of the elevator a moment later. 

“What the hell is going on down here?!?!?!” said Tony, as the three made their way into the room with the others, “Jarvis filled us in, and we saw the surveillance video… but I still don’t get it. I mean, that guy was clearly an asshole, who probably got his degree from a box of cereal, but really?! I hate Shield as much as the next superhero, and I certainly don’t trust them, especially not as far as I can throw them- because, let’s be honest that’s pretty far with the suit… but that seemed a little extreme!!”

Loki looked like he wanted to go over and help Steve, but Thor’s hand on his arm stopped him. The God of Mischief heeded the warning, and didn’t move any closer, but his lips were pushed together in a fine line, and his posture was pretty tense.

The arrival of the others and Tony’s running commentary gave James a chance to realize how his stance and tone must look to his friend. With a deliberate breath James forced himself to relax and eased up his tone, “Steve, buddy, that was a doctor from Shield. He was not a threat. He was here to help you… I promise he wasn’t going to hurt you. Yes, he should’ve of made a grab for your sketchbook, but-“

“That wasn’t the problem,” said Loki softly from next to Thor interrupting James, but not elaborating further.

The Avengers, as one, turned their attention to Loki, who in turn had his attention focused completely on Steve. 

“Then what was the problem?” Asked Natasha, a hint of steel in her voice, clearly expecting an answer that would explain Steve’s actions.

With James’ attention no longer directed at him, Steve brought his hands down away from his face and to right below his knees that were still brought up close to his chest. He began tapping his hand against his leg at an extremely fast pace, the tension not totally leaving his body quite yet.

“The doctor was in Steve’s personal space,” said Loki, not taking his eyes off his friend, but shrugging Thor’s hand off his arm and moving a little closer. Loki’s eyebrows drew together in concern before looking between Steve and the Avengers once or twice.

“I’m getting a little tired of these half answers.” Said James, who was still having trouble connecting his friend from the forties, who hated killing with a passion, and this person he was today who was killing Shield personnel without a second thought. “What does that have to do with anything? Steve let me and Bruce into his personal space before! Hell, I even cut his hair for him!!”

Steve’s hand started tapping faster, if that was even possible, against his leg and he gave a little nod that he knew Loki saw.

Loki took a second to collect his thoughts, “He wasn’t grabbing for the sketchbook. At the last second, he changed directions and moved his hand towards Steven’s chin. Surely you remember what happened at the Ruins Sergeant, when you put your arm around the back of Steven’s neck? The only reason he didn’t kill you as well is because of your history.”

What Loki didn’t say was even their shared history almost didn’t stop Steve. The God knew it was not the time for that information to be shared and if it was that would be up to Steven to do, not him.

“Yes, about that,” started Bruce carefully, “James got a look at the injury when we were outside on the Penthouse deck. It looks… pretty horrible even through the wrapping that Steve has done to it. Is there anything we can do to help heal it?”

James cut in before Loki could answer, “Stevie, what happened?”

All the anger and tension from before bleed out of James as he remembered the look in Steve’s eye when he let him go at the Ruins. He shouldn’t’ve rushed in so quickly and terrified his friend like he had. But James felt like he was out of his depth with Steve. He didn’t understand much of Steve’s situation in space, only that he spent almost seventy years being tortured and had to come up with a desperate escape attempt that he had no hope of knowing would actually work. There were still so many missing pieces and Steve wasn’t able to fill them in.

There was another beat of silence before Loki licked his lips and spoke for Steve, “Before I fell, Steven was a prisoner on Thanos’ ship. Something happened between him and the Titan. And no- he won’t tell me what happened, so don’t ask. Thanos got so angry at whatever it was Steven did or said that he grabbed Steven by his hair and pushed him into a wall, using the hold on his hair to keep him immobile.”

There was another pause from Loki and James suddenly knew he was NOT going to like whatever the trickster God would have to say.

“With his free hand, Thanos started digging into Steve’s neck with just his fingernails… scratching, pinching and scissoring the wound to get deeper. Thanos ended up scratching at his vocal cords and continued to do them damage until Steven couldn’t make any noise at all. Steven had attempted to fight back, even through the pain, but he couldn’t stop the Titan’s hand and the hold on his head was too great. By the time Steven got free, he was missing a large chunk of hair that was now in Thanos’ closed fist, and he was bleeding out through his neck wound, having trouble breathing. Thanos stood back and watched him practically bleed out in the cell. He then took Steven’s blood-soaked body and chained it up to the outside of his ship next to the docking doors where people boarding would be able to see it when they entered.”

All of the Avengers looked more than a little green at the images Loki was creating with his words. 

Bruce actually growled in a very Hulk like fashion, drawing everyone’s attention towards him and away from their guests. Thor got a hold of Bruce’ arm and pulled the doctor from the room before he could transform, Tony following behind to help calm Bruce’s anger down.

Natasha had her gun away, one hand covering her mouth, a look of deep sorrow in her eyes, which were glued on Steve, who was watching them all through his lashes. Her breathing was a little shaky, but her eyes were dry. 

James, the former Winter Soldier, had actual tears in his eyes. He remembered how mouthy Steve had been before he disappeared. The original Captain was always talking back, fighting for equality, fighting for goodness, and fighting anyone who in his mind was choosing not to do the right thing. He had always joked that Steve’s mouth would get him in serious trouble one day.

He just didn’t realize that it was an omen for a legitimate threat.

Without warning James was kneeling in front of Steve pulling his friend into a tight hug against his chest. Both of James’ arms were locked around Steve’s body, one elbow cradling the back of his head, and the metal one locked around the middle of his back. Steve was wound up tighter than Clint’s bow’s he was so tense at the sudden move. Clearly, he hadn’t been expecting it, because his hands were brought up in a defensive position and caught between both their bodies. He was also holding his breath, not sure how to respond to the tight hold James had on him.

Natasha was quick to regain her composure and said to the room in general, “I’m going to get Fury on the line. He needs to know what happened here in the most general terms.”

James was torn between going with her and yelling at the Director or staying behind and continuing to hug the stuffing out of his friend.

He settled for staying and punching Fury in the face the next time he saw him. He nodded at Natasha who turned and went into the hall to make her call.

“You stupid punk.” Said James, although there was no heat behind his words.

Loki turned away from the pair, giving them a moment of privacy. He summoned a body bag from the medical level of the Tower and used his magic to gather the Doctor’s remains, removing all traces of his death from the room.

888888888888888888888888

Thor debated briefly with taking Bruce down to the gym, but instead decided to take him just down the hall to his own room. His hope was the guest room’s general environment would help ease Bruce away from a transformation. And if not, then at least his hammer would be right on hand.

Bruce’s breathing was a little on the fast side, and even though Tony was following the pair, he was uncharacteristically quiet, somehow realizing that his running commentary wouldn’t help the situation at all. Thor let go of Bruce’s arm as soon as the three of them were securely encased in Thor’s guest room. Bruce moved away from the pair, working on calming his breathing.

Thor remained a silent but steady anchor. Tony, on the other hand, must’ve felt it was a good time to add his own thoughts as a distraction. “You know Brucie-Bear, Big Green won’t be able to help the situation and getting angry at what Loki said won’t change anything.” Bruce just gave a growl-huff in response.

Tony was also watching his friend carefully as he spoke to the Hulk, it seemed like He was taking over, “So you know Big Green, I think you’re really great and all, but right now is not the best time for you to be making an appearance. I mean everyone is fine right now. And you did save my life a few days ago, what with the portal and all, but you don’t need to come out again so soon! In fact, Bruce’s doctoring might be a big help at the moment, and –Hey! Idea. How about you let Bruce out now, and in a day or so you can come out and I’ll give you a tour of the Tower!”

The Hulk must’ve heard something he either liked or needed to hear from Tony. Gradually Bruce regained control and managed to even out his breathing.

“A tour? Really Tony?” Bruce said with exasperation when he was firmly back in control of himself again.

“Hey! I meant it! Big Green is just as much a part of this team as you. And he saved my life, so I do sorta owe him.” Said Tony defensively.

“Are you better now Doctor?” Spoke Thor, not quite sure if he could fully relax or not. Bruce nodded towards the Asgardian, “Yeah. Good call there Thor, the Other Guy might’ve made an appearance if we had stayed in that room a minute longer.”

“Indeed. Loki’s tale was quite troubling.”

“Yeah, but can we believe him? What if that was all just a way for Loki to excuse Steve’s seventy years of torture crazy? I mean, that’s not the first Shield Agent Steve’s killed, and if Fury keeps sending them, it probably won’t be the last.” Said Tony, thinking about the Agents who were supposed to be monitoring Loki and Thor’s return to Asgard.

Bruce was already shaking his head, “No. Well, yes Steve clearly has some head issues, but he is way too protective of his neck injury for Loki to have made that up. I’m also pretty sure that had any of us done the whole arm around the shoulder thing that James did back at the Ruins we would’ve been just as dead as the Shield Agents.”

“That guy was being a bit of an ass hole. Who does that anyway? Aren’t those psychs supposed to be trained better than your average doctor? Then again this IS SHIELD we are talking about…” Said Tony, not agreeing, but also not disagreeing. He would ask Jarvis to bring up the Penthouse deck surveillance later, see if he could get an idea of what Bruce and James saw.

“Perhaps Steve was testing him, just as much as he was testing Steve.” Bruce was thinking over the encounter trying to fit the pieces together. “From the moment he walked in the room Steve was pretty much ignoring him, probably testing to see how long it would take the guy to react like he did. Only, I don’t think Steve thought he would try to get physical. That seemed almost like a last second decision on the Doctor’s part, which Steve was reacting to.”

“Makes sense,” said Tony also thinking it over, “We will just have to make sure to set some better ground rules for the next Psych that Fury is gonna send. That is if he doesn’t try to get those two imprisoned, which I wouldn’t put past the Cyclops.”

Both Thor and Bruce nodded with that reasoning, “Speaking of the Director, someone is gonna have to let him know about this little SNAFU-“

“If I may, Sir, Ms. Romanoff is already on the phone with him in the hall.” Jarvis interrupted Tony before he could get into a Shield related rant.

“Shall we then?” Tony waved his arm at the door in a grand gesture, he would go talk with Fury while Bruce and Thor went back across the hall. They had a body to dispose of after all.

Fury’s “Are you Fucking kidding me?!?!?” was what greeted them as they entered the hallway.

Natasha had the phone held about half an arm’s length away from her ear with how loud Fury was yelling. She deemed it better to let him rant than try to interject at this point. “Sitwell recommended the guy himself! He was one of the best psychiatrists SHIELD has!! Or HAD at this point. That Fucker better stop fucking killing my agents! Original Captain America or NO that shit is not going to stand!”

“Look Severus-“ Tony cut in before Fury could get any louder or angry in his rant, “That guy was an asshole through and through. He was taking liberties that a doctor shouldn’t take when interacting with a patient for the first time. He ignored all our warnings and dismissed everything we said straight out. It was his own fault he got himself killed, not Steve’s.”

Natasha and Tony could actually feel the glare that Fury was sending them through the phone in the silence that followed. The pair shared a look, both clearly not impressed.

“I will send someone more willing to work with you next time.” Said Fury finally before cutting off the connection before either of them could say anything in return. 

“Is it just me…” started Tony with more than a little suspicion, “or did Cyclops give in a little too easily there?”

Natasha didn’t answer, she was too busy glaring at the phone, trying to make it give up it’s secrets. 

Thor came out of Loki and Steve’s room just then holding the body bag with Everett’s body in it. “Where shall we bring him Man of Iron?”

“Jarvis, have a car brought around to the garage for us. We will send the good doctor back to Shield and let them handle this.” Tony gestured for Thor to follow him and the two of them brought the body bag down to the garage.

Natasha slowly brought the phone back to her pocket. There was something else going on here; something else that they were missing, but both Steve and Loki knew and weren’t sharing.

It was time for her to figure out what it was.

##### -End Chapter 7-


	8. Where Shield Happens... Again.

For the rest of the day both Loki and Steve refused to interact with the Avengers. Steve stayed curled up in the corner, not speaking or looking at any of them, no matter what James did or said to coax him out of his hiding spot. After a few hours of no reactions at all from Steve, Natasha finally managed to drag James from the room to spar.

Bruce attempted to get Steve to agree to an actual exam for his injuries that both the original Captain and Loki refused flat out before he could even finish the sentence. He gave up after a few tries and went down to his lab to work on a few more recipes for Steve and also re-start some of his own research for reversing his Green problem. Thor ended up joining James and Natasha in the gym after a few failed attempts at reaching Jane via telephone, while Tony enclosed himself in his own workshop. One of the Avengers brought food up for the pair every few hours, but the shared meals in Loki and Steve’s room didn’t happen for the rest of that day.

When Steve and Loki were sure they would be alone for a while the pair took turns getting some sleep. Neither one slept for more than an hour at a time, while the other was always prompt about waking the other when said time was up. Steve spent most of his awake time drawing. He seemed to be halfway through the first sketchbook already, but no one had asked yet to see what he was drawing. He had also not offered it to them to look through of his own accord either.

It was almost midnight when James finally made it to bed. He was just about asleep when he heard a small noise from outside his room. Training had him out of bed and halfway to the door with a gun and knife in hand before Jarvis’ quiet voice stopped him, “If I may Captain Barnes, there is no threat outside your room. Just Captain Rogers.”

Without prompting Jarvis brought up the hallway feed to show Steve was settled on the floor outside James’ room, in his usual position with his sketchbook in hand, seemingly drawing away.

James was thoroughly confused by the scene. Normally it was James sitting outside Steve’s room or by his bed when he was sick and the doctor’s thought he wouldn’t make it. /What is Stevie doing out there?/

James thought about going out there to see if he could get Steve to tell him what was wrong. But then he noticed Steve didn’t have the StarkTablet with him this time. /I wonder…/

The ex-assassin turned around and stashed his weapons back where he got them from, then made his way back to the bed. “Jarvis, please let Steve know he can come in if he wants. He doesn’t have to sit in the hall like that.”

“Your message has been relayed Captain.” Said Jarvis a moment later. The A.I also cut off the hallway feed and the room fell back into darkness.

Almost a half hour later, when James was starting to doze while he waited, the door was pushed open just enough for Steve to slip into the room, then it was closed just as quietly. James stayed still on the bed; making no move to show Steve he was awake and knew his friend was there. With steps that were far stealthier than James had ever heard from Steve before, his friend carefully made his way into the room. James actually had to strain a little to hear his steps and briefly wondered if he had used that same stealth the day he had grabbed Loki away from them. /I bet he did. I don’t even think Natasha knew he was there. /

With that same stealth Steve sat down on the floor on the side of the end table, his back to the wall. James did hear, however, the moment Steve’s breath hitched in the darkness and he scooted around to the front of the nightstand to sit with his side touching the bed. The ex-assassin debated with himself on whether he should bring his arm down so he could link his hand with Steve’s but decided against it at the last second. Clearly Steve had a reason to be in James’ room and he wouldn’t push his friend like he had that afternoon. 

James let out one last deep exhale and settled back into the sheets. The next morning two things would be apparent to James before he even opened his eyes. One, Steve was no longer in his room, probably sneaking out in the early dawn hours to go back to his room, and two, that was the deepest sleep James had had in since he was a kid. He felt completely relaxed and refreshed in a way he thought wouldn’t be a viable option ever again. 

“What time did Steve sneak out Jarvis?” James asked the A.I as he began his morning routine. 

“Mr. Rogers left an hour before sunrise Sir.” Came Jarvis’ quick response. James was about to thank the A.I, but he had reached his dresser and found a folded sheet of paper sitting right in the middle of it. The paper hadn’t been there the night before, of that James was sure.

The ex-assassin’s heart skipped a beat when he realized who had most likely left the note. With careful hands he picked up the paper and unfolded it. He actually stopped breathing when he saw what the picture was.

The paper had two drawings; on one side of the fold was a bed with Steve lying, probably on the brink of death, (it was a more regular occurrence than James and Mrs. Rogers would’ve liked) surrounded by James who was holding his hand, head leaned down over his arm, and his mother, who was wiping his brow with a cloth, both looking very determined. On the other side was a picture in the present with a now grown up James lying in this room sleeping deeply while Steve, James’ mother and his sisters all sat around him- Steve on the floor in the position he was in last night, his sisters down by his feet looking like they were soothing him with gentle hands, and his mother up by his head carting her fingers through his hair like James remembered from when he was a child. James’ mother and sisters looked exactly like James remembered seeing them right before he shipped out in the forties, all of them drawn in painstaking detail and accuracy. James also noticed that they were all wearing the dresses he loved seeing in them from that time period, as the memories started flowing through his mind.

“Captain,” Jarvis’ British voice broke through the fog the picture created in James’ mind, “I’m afraid if you don’t inhale in the next ten seconds, I will be forced to alert the others to your need of medical assistance.”

James realized he wasn’t breathing again and promptly took a deep breath in, repeating the action a few times so as to not worry Jarvis any further.

“Thanks Jarvis,” he said distractedly. “Hey did-“

“Yes Sir, Mr. Rogers left that on your bureau before he left this morning. If I may, he was working on it most of the night, using only the light coming in from the windows.” Jarvis said unrepentantly. James had noticed the shades had been opened, but he assumed that Jarvis had done that this morning like he normally did. 

Before James could ask why Jarvis explained his actions, “Mr. Rogers has shown a serious aversion to total darkness. In his and Loki’s room the pair leave the lights partially dimmed at night, even with the window shades kept open. However last night Mr. Rogers declined my offer to keep the lights dimmed but did point towards the shades in silent request.”

James nodded, still engrossed in Steve’s drawing. He carefully laid it back on the bureau and continued his routine, looking back over at it on occasion. “If Steve decides to come back here tonight, or any other night you can leave the lights on a low setting for him Jarvis. I can sleep through it just fine.”

“I’ll make a note of it Captain.” With that James made his way down to breakfast. He decided to keep the drawing to himself for now. The emotions it brought out were much too close to the surface for him to be sharing with the others. Perhaps in a day or so he would, when he could better control the emotions the picture brought forth.

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Everyone was already at the table when James made it down to breakfast. He hadn’t realized he had spent so much time staring at the picture Steve had left him. It suddenly made sense why Jarvis had gotten worried over his lack of breathing.

Natasha glanced at him as he sat down, “That tired from training with Thor and I that you overslept? Or maybe just too bruised.”

In truth the three of them hadn’t caused any damage to each other, just traded off different moves to see if the others could also do them- although it was typical Natasha behavior to be gloating at him after a sparring session.

James just sent her a glare, which had her lips twitching into an almost non-existent smile. Thor also looked vaguely amused, but declined from adding anything, least the glare be turned on him instead.

“So,” began Tony, working on his second pot of coffee and a green smoothie that may or may not have been glowing slightly, “Cyclops is going to be sending another Shield Psych today after lunch. **She** is supposedly going to be more of a team player and speak with us before going in to speak with Loki and Steve. She has requested that the pair be separated again for their sessions.”

The others all shared a look around the table before Bruce spoke up, “Are we sure she is going to actually listen to us prior to the first meeting?”

Tony nodded, although it was clear to see he wasn’t as believing as Fury that things would go better this time, “Fury mentioned something about restraints if it came to that-”

“Absolutely not.” James cut him off mid-sentence, no trace of backing down in his tone or body language.

Tony put his hands up in surrender, “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. Literally- just relaying what Mom said. I didn’t say we would do it, or that I agreed with him.”

“Does this doctor have a name?” Asked Natasha, a StarkTablet in hand ready to start a background check on the doctor.

“Garr…Gray…Jarvis, help me out, what was it?” Cleary the coffee had started working Tony’s brain into overtime and he was getting distracted with other things.

“Garrison, Sir. Doctor Jean Garrison.” Natasha was nodding and imputing the information while Jarvis helped by bringing up everything he could find on the doctor.

After a tense ten minutes, where James waited to see what Natasha would find, the Black Widow brought her head up with a decisive nod. “She should be a better fit than Everetts.”

Without prompting Natasha turned the Tablet over to James and Thor, the God reading from the side. It took a little longer, because the two of them read at slightly different speeds, but eventually both James and Thor nodded their assent. 

“Well, if you guys are satisfied these breakfast trays are ready to go up.” Said Bruce, speaking up from where he was topping off the last of the smoothies.

James was up before Bruce even finished talking, taking one of the trays and making for the elevator. If the others noticed his enthusiasm they didn’t comment, just followed behind at a more sedate pace. Well, Thor and Bruce did. Tony mumbled something about equations, while Natasha continued her investigation into the new Doctor being sent by Shield.

Again James was the first one to Loki and Steve’s room, knocking on the door and pushing it open a second later. His eyes went straight for Steve after doing a brief check to see Loki’s position. Said God was reclining on the floor near Steve, playing with the StarkTablet again while Steve was working on another page in his sketchbook.

The original Captain looked up at James’ entrance, before putting away his art things and sitting up straighter at the sight of more food. Loki also put the Tablet down, placing it between them in case Steve wanted to use it to say something to Barnes, without Loki having to translate for them.

“Thanks Stevie.” Was all James said quietly as he put the tray down in front of his friend. The look in his eyes was conveying his message without alerting Thor or Bruce to what he was talking about. Steve’s lips twitched into a small smile, eyes shining in return. 

Bruce waited until after Steve finished his smoothies, all ones that he had liked in the past few days, and Loki had finished his large plate of eggs and breakfast meats before mentioning the new doctor. “Shield is sending over another Doctor. A female doctor named Jean Garrison.”

He paused while he waited to see the pair’s reaction to the news. When neither of them said or did anything with the news Bruce continued, “She has requested that you be separated for your sessions, and Fury said she was willing to work with the team before meeting with you in order to set some ground rules for what could and couldn’t happen during the sessions.”

This also didn’t seem to phase either Steve or Loki, both of them just shrugging with minimal eye contact towards their hosts. (Looking back, the Avengers would realize this was a sign of more things they had missed in their interactions with Loki and Steve.)

“Shall I go first then?” Asked Loki casually.

“Actually Sir,” said Jarvis interrupting before Bruce could say anything, “Doctor Garrison has requested to meet with Mr. Rogers first.”

That got a shared look from Steve and Loki, but no verbal communication from the pair. The trio did notice, however, that Steve’s hand began twitching again the moment Jarvis finished speaking.

Bruce made a note to bring up the tick with the Doctor before the session. He also debated bringing up the telepathy thing, as well. Steve hadn’t tried it with any of them as far as he knew, but there was some kind of communication going on with Loki that it seemed worth mentioning.

“Brother,” began Thor, “perhaps we could spend some time together whilst Steven is having his session.” Clearly Thor wanted to try talking to Loki again.

Loki and Steve shared another look before Loki nodded at his brother in agreement.

“Doctor Garrison will be here after lunch to meet with us and start the sessions. Steve, do you want James or I to stay in the room during your session this time?” The unspoken incase something happens and we need to run interference, was left unsaid but definitely heard. 

Steve looked between the pair a moment before shaking his head in the negative. He paused a moment before reaching over for the StarkTablet and typing something in and playing it for them. “But you can listen in from Bucky’s room again if it makes you feel better.”

The trio of Avengers startled slightly, not realizing that Steve had known they were across the hall yesterday. 

“Wait,” said Thor confused, “Who is this Bucky? And why have we not been introduced yet?”

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Doctor Jean Garrison was a no-nonsense type of doctor. She was willing to comply with the meetings with the Avengers before her first sessions with her possible new patients, especially because she was under strict orders from her superiors on the matter. All morning she had been in meetings with said superiors in Shield going over the mess that Everetts had created the day before.

Privately Garrison thought Everetts dug his own grave with how he handled the situation presented. There was no love lost between them with Everetts arrogance oftentimes souring their interactions on certain joint projects when she had worked with him. Indeed, that arrogance was what won Everetts over when their superiors came to them with the fascinating news about the Avengers new guests. /Ah well, all the more prestige for me. Especially if this turns out to be a legit finding. / Thought Garrison as she boarded Stark’s private elevator.

When Stark’s A.I announced her arrival at the common floor, Garrison only paused long enough for the doors to start to open before she was moving forward. 

“Ah, hello Agents, Doctor, and Mr. Odinson,” she said as she entered the main room where said Avengers were sitting on various pieces of furniture. She nodded at each Avenger in turn before finding her way to the nearest unoccupied seat. She opened her briefcase, pulling out a pen and pad of paper to take notes, leading the conversation away from the usual pleasantries. She was here to do a job and nothing more. “So, where shall we begin? I’ve been meeting with my superiors all morning and we have been reviewing the data you sent us on Everetts disaster of a session. Clearly the situation was not handled well at all and I would love to know what I can do to keep myself from receiving the same end result.”

If any of them were impressed they didn’t show it. Doctor Banner was the first to speak, going over the pair’s medical care they had been receiving while staying at the Tower. Agents Barnes and Romanoff went into what details they could about the trauma the Original Captain America and Asgardian had gone through while in space and what things would trigger a violent reaction from what they’ve seen. Thor had little to add but was paying close attention and giving corrections or extra clarification if it was needed.

Doctor Garrison took copious notes, stopped them on occasion and even asked questions of her own or for more clarifications. When the group felt confident with her understanding of the situation thus far the Avengers, (Barnes and Thor were still pretty hesitant,) thought it best to introduce the Doctor to her new patients.

The four of them walked with the doctor up to the guest floor, Tony was in his workshop but all of them were pretty sure he was still keeping a very close eye on the situation, before coming to a halt outside of Steve and Loki’s room. James was the one to knock on the door, before waiting a beat and pushing it open. “Hey guys, the Doctor is here- Doctor Jean Garrison these are Steve and Loki, guys this is Doctor Garrison.”

Steve and Loki were in their usual positions on the floor near the windows. The difference between this time and last time is Steve had the StarkTablet in one hand, his other moving a mile a minute against his leg. He was looking directly at the Doctor, not breaking eye contact once gained, but also not acknowledging the introduction either. Loki was folding up a piece of paper that James recognized as being from Steve’s sketchbook, and putting it into the pocket of the shirt he was wearing. He briefly wondered what Steve had drawn for the God before putting it to the back of his mind. They needed to make sure the Doctor survived the session and he could ask about the drawing later.

Loki stood with much more fluidity than he had in the last few days, and made his way over to Thor, who was standing by the door, arms crossed and watching Steve’s staring contest with the Doctor. The God looked back at his friend one time, nodded towards the doctor and moved into the hall, clearly as a hint for the others to perhaps leave Steve to his session.

The Avengers took the hint and moved as a group out of the room, closing the door and moving across the hall- Bruce, Natasha and James to watch the session, or down the hall- Loki and Thor to try to talk some more.

As the door closed behind the group Doctor Garrison didn’t even blink but continued holding Steve’s gaze and she moved a chair and placed her briefcase on the table next to her. “I am going to have a seat,” she began, not breaking eye contact, “it will be more comfortable for me to take notes that way as we build the trust necessary to help you heal.”

While she was speaking she was also pulling out the pad of paper and a pen, ready to begin working with Steve on the vetting/recovery process. Steve’s eyes narrowed a hair, before going back to their original position. The Doctor didn’t notice, but James did, who brought it to Brue and Natasha’s attention.

He had a bad feeling about this but brushed it aside. His paranoia was probably kicking into high gear because he was so stressed at the situation in general.

A half hour later James was kicking himself for not realizing the gut feeling for what it was, the same feeling he got growing up when it seemed like Steve was about to do something stupid.

It started with Steve answering all of her questions using the StarkTablet, but only giving the information “Steve Rogers, Captain, 5556895,” over and over again.

Name. Rank. Serial Number. Repeat.

For every. Single. Question.

It ended with him taking the knife he had stolen off of Bucky in the Ruins, and lobbing it at the Doctor with pinpoint accuracy halfway through the session, while also moving to a corner as far away from her chair as he could possibly find without actually getting on any furniture. The knife lodged itself straight through her heart, with enough force that the blade started to slice through the back of the chair as well.

Natasha had noticed the move a split second before it happened, barely having time to shout a warning to Bruce and James as Steve let the weapon fly.

James let out a string of colorful curses in several languages as he also went flying through the room and across the hall in record time. He paused briefly to keep himself from barging into the room like yesterday, and barely held off on throwing open the door again.

Bruce and Natasha were steps behind him as he reigned in his anger and confusion at the situation and **did not force** the door open with enough pressure that it hit the wall.

Even before the door was fully open Steve, still standing, was pushing back into the wall as far as possible, hands held at the regular surrender position, and eyes resting on James with barely hidden fear behind his normal determination.

Natasha held the back of James’ shirt so he didn’t storm into the room again, but her other hand had a gun trained on Steve, who was frozen in his corner. James took the warning for what it was and refrained from running at Steve again.

“Steve, what the fuck is going on?!? You can’t keep **doing** this to every Shield Agent you meet!!! Fury is gonna say you’re too unstable to stay here and he will storm the Tower trying to take you away! Is THAT what you want?!?!? To be locked up in **another** prison??” James could not understand what was up with Steve and his behavior. He had only been this ruthless to Hydra Agents or the Nazi’s running the Concentration Camp they had liberated. “Shield is not the enemy here Stevie. You have to stop treating them like they are. Like WE are.”

The look of absolute betrayal and heartbreak on Steve’s face was like a sledgehammer to James’ anger and his heart. Steve had never looked at him like that. Ever. They were each other’s rocks growing up and especially during the war, no matter how much James was loath to admit it back then.

While James was ranting and Natasha had a gun trained on Steve, Bruce took the initiative and walked over to the doctor. He again confirmed what they all knew, that the Agent was indeed dead. But then he also picked up the notebook she’d been using since she got to the Tower and started reading through her notes from the session.

Patient is engaged in staring contest, but otherwise posture and body language is relaxed but defensive.  
Patient is nonverbal- all communication to be done through the StarkTablet*  
Patient does not need to look at keyboard while typing (is still maintaining eye contact).  
Shows a better grasp of technology than previously suspected.  
Validity of prisoner in space story could be questioned later on  
Patient is answering all questions with Name, Rank and Serial Number*$*#  
Showing lack of trust for Shield, will make sessions more difficult, with much longer recovery period than originally thought^  
Shows astounding control over self- facial cues, body language, posture, etc$$  
Once rehabilitated properly patient could be valuable asset to -

Blood splatter and an incomplete sentence/bulleted note indicated to Bruce the abrupt ending to the session.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary for Bruce except maybe the little doodles at the end of some lines, but then again, he wasn’t really that kind of doctor, so he wouldn’t know for sure. Wordlessly he handed the pad over to Natasha who was still pointing a gun at Steve.

Said Super Soldier was sinking down the wall into his normal knees drawn up position, but instead of starting the nervous tick of tapping his leg with his fingers, he held his hands out like at the Ruins, indicating he was going to let them handcuff him again. His posture was extremely rigid and tense, and he refused to look at them at all, instead turning his head so the side of it rested on his pulled-out arms, face turned towards the window looking outside.

James made a frustrated noise and left the room. Although he did stop in the hall to slide down the wall holding his head in his hands.

Loki and Thor came out of the elevator at that point, having been updated from Jarvis on what had happened during the session. Thor put a comforting hand on James’ shoulder and stayed in the hall, while Loki stepped into his shared room cautiously. Natasha had put the gun down as she read over the notes from the doctor and Bruce was trying to decide between talking to Steve or cleaning up the doctor’s body. 

Loki helped him make his decision by waving his hand to summon another body bag like he had done yesterday. He then levitated the body into the bag and began magic-ing the blood off the chair. Bruce gave him a small nod and moved closer to Steve, talking to him softly. 

It was all for not, as Steve refused to acknowledge Bruce’s presence or words. It didn’t stop him however from continuing to try, “Steve, look, we are not going to let Fury take you. You’re also not a prisoner here either, and we are not going to be putting you in chains. I’m going to move your hands out of that position they’re in because that can’t be very comfortable for you.”

Slowly Bruce grasped gently at Steve’s wrists and pushed his arms back towards his body and out of the “cuff me” position they were in before. Steve didn’t resist, just let Bruce maneuver him however he wanted. When Bruce let go of his wrists, Steve just moved them to grasp around his legs, hugging them close to his chest.

The sign of trust Steve just displayed wasn’t lost on Bruce, but the doctor didn’t mention it.

“Steven has been fighting his enemies nonstop for a long time Doctor Banner,” said Loki quietly when Bruce stood and moved away from Steve’s curled position. The body was in the bag and the chair area was completely clean and looking brand-new. “And yet, I don’t think he’s ready to stop.”

“He might not know how,” was all Bruce said in reply. Thor came in, thanked Loki for helping with the mess and solemnly grabbed the bag just like he had yesterday. He would again bring it to the garage as Jarvis had called a car for pick up. Bruce also thanked Loki for cleaning it up and closed the door softly on his way out of the room, leaving the pair in silence. Loki waited a beat before moving over to sit close to where Steve was curled up. Silent support for his friend while he tried to figure out what his next step would be.

James and Natasha were no longer in the hall, but muffled voices could be heard from the ex-assassin’s room across the way. It sounded to Bruce like the pair was arguing in Russian over something, and if that was true, the scientist would steer clear of the area so as to not get involved. Instead he made his way to the kitchen to make some more smoothies for Steve for dinner. He was trying to up the number to five or six, so Steve was increasing his calorie intake more. Jarvis had noticed some very slight changes in body temp, heart rate, etc but nothing concrete could be concluded yet.

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Natasha put her gun away as Bruce handed her the notepad to look over. She read over the notes, then again, then a third time extra slowly.

Something wasn’t adding up again and it wasn’t just Steve’s disregard for the lives of Shield Agents. The problem was that Natasha couldn’t figure out what was wrong- and that in itself was extremely troubling for multiple reasons.

The Black Widow glanced down at James then back at the notes before coming to a decision. She grabbed James by the arm and started pulling him into his room, **“We need to talk. Now.”**

Her tone was clipped with anger, which stopped James from protesting the sudden move. He was willingly dragged into his room, and then shut the door behind them. **“Jarvis initiate all privacy settings for this room.”**

The windows darkened, and the lights brightened. After a moment Jarvis confirmed all privacy settings were in place.

 **“James, something is going on.”** Said Natasha, still holding the notes.

 **“Yeah. Steve is lashing out at Shield.”** James was still frustrated and not in the mood for whatever Natasha was worried about.

**“No. There’s more to this than that. Here, look at the doctor’s notes.”**

James took the pad and glanced through the notes. **“There is nothing odd here. Hell, you doodle pictures for every report you turn in! Remember Stark’s?? That one agent had a porcupine thing on the report… What was his name? Warf? Waldo?”**

 **“Ward.”** Natasha was getting impatient, **“look again. This is different.”**

 **“No, it’s not. I think you’re just upset that we are letting Loki and Steve stay here and your projecting that anger into their actions!”** He was gesturing to the notepad and back towards Steve and Loki’s room.

 **“When we brought you out of the Red Room, you didn’t try to kill every Shield Doctor we sent to you.”** Natasha crossed her arms in frustration.

 **“True. But I also WANTED to kill every doctor you sent into the room. I just restrained myself because a) I didn’t want to be restricted more than I already was, and b) I have better impulse control than Steve does!”** James’ hands were closed into fists, a sign that he was starting to lose control of his emotions.

 **“Well maybe he should be more restricted with the next agent they send.”** Natasha’s voice was getting calmer the angrier she got. James was too close to the situation and not thinking clearly. 

**“Absolutely not.”** James' voice was deadly, and Natasha suddenly knew she had overstepped a line. **“If Steve was around when I was found he wouldn’t have stood for all the shit Shield put me through in the name of ‘vetting’ me. He would’ve been stubborn, bull headed, and completely disregarding his own safety in his quest to make sure I was all right. He would’ve protected me even though I probably would’ve lashed out at him, or would’ve tried to kill him, it wouldn’t have stopped him. He wouldn’t put me in chains or restrict me to just a room. He would’ve made me try to feel human again in any way he could. I will not do to him what Shield did to us. He doesn’t deserve that and neither did we.”**

**“James, we were too dangerous to be let loose. I believe that is the same for Steve and Loki as well.”**

**“That may have been so, but then Clint should’ve made a different call with you. And you should’ve made a different call with me. Yet here we both are. Alive and able to make our own choices, direct our own lives because someone thought we were worth fighting for.”** James moved to the bed and sat on the edge, staring at Natasha and daring her to argue with him about this.

Natasha decided to try a different tactic. **“Maybe you’re right. Maybe things would’ve been different if he was there when you were brought in. I don’t know, and I can’t answer one way or another if it’s the truth or just wishful thinking from you. But what I DO know is that something isn’t right about this whole situation. Steve and Loki know something and for whatever reason they are not sharing it with us. I think you are too close to this and not seeing what needs to be seen.”**

James sighed, the fight leaving him all at once, **“That might be true. But I can’t leave him like this. I need to be here for him and help him through this. I need to keep Shield from trying to lock him up like he has been for the last seventy years.”**

Natasha looked at her friend and fellow brainwashed assassin. **“I’m going to figure out what we are missing here. We were reacting to everything that had to do with Loki and the invasion, I’m not going to make that same mistake again with whatever Steve is hiding.”**

James looked torn between going with her, he knew she wasn’t going to stay at the Tower to solve this and staying with Steve. Natasha noticed the look and answered for him, **“I’m a big girl, I can handle this on my own. You need to stay here and help your friend. Maybe if given the chance, he will tell you what they are hiding, and you can pass on the message to me.”**

Natasha suddenly found herself with a hand full of James wrapping her up in a huge hug. **“Thank you My Moon.”**

She returned the hug for a moment before pulling away. “I need to talk to Tony about borrowing a car and get ready to go.”

James nodded and didn’t try to stop her, “be careful.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow playfully, “aren’t I always?” That got an eye roll from James.

Without a backwards glance Natasha turned towards the door, ready to get the ball rolling on this. She first went to her room to grab a change of clothes and some more weapons and ammunition. With a final sweep of the room she closed the door, not bothering with things like the book she was reading that was sitting on the nightstand, or the afghan that was settled on her bed, satisfied that everything was in place and nothing had been trifled with.

If she HAD picked up the book to bring with her, a small folded sheet of sketch paper would’ve fallen out, which she would’ve then gotten curious about and asked Jarvis of its origins. She would’ve found out that Steve had been in her room that morning while she was doing background checks on the doctor, to place the small paper in its hiding spot. Curious, she would’ve picked up the paper, unfolded it and found the answers to a LOT of the questions she had about this whole situation. 

Perhaps things even would’ve turned out differently for everyone if she had.

Unfortunately, Clint, Natasha, and James had a pact to never take personal belongings on a mission, no matter how unimportant they seemed. It was just more reason for them to complete the mission and come home to the people and items that held value to them. 

Because of this, Natasha didn’t pick up the book and try to put it in her bag, making her miss the message Steve was trying to share with her. The warning of all the danger surrounding them and how deeply it was entwined into their lives.

##  End Chapter 8


	9. Comings and Goings

Tony was in his workshop from after breakfast until late that evening, when a call from Pepper got him moving to the Penthouse. He still wasn’t comfortable with her being at the Tower while Loki and Steve were there and possibly still a danger. 

Yes. He was being overprotective. Yes, he is man enough to admit that. But that didn’t change his feelings on the matter and Pepper was hard pressed to make him change his mind.

The inventor had been monitoring the meeting between his teammates and Garrison, then also the session with Cap 1.0. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to Tony, but he also wasn’t sure what signs to be looking for specifically. 

However, he was totally not surprised when Steve pulled the knife and threw it at the doctor. 

He was surprised at the way that Steve had answered all his questions up to that point. Name. Rank. Serial number. Over and over again no matter what question she asked.

The question plaguing all the Avengers was- what was Steve thinking? Why Shield?

It seemed only the Original Captain and possibly even Loki could answer, but neither one seemed interested in sharing with the rest of the class.

Tony also wasn’t surprised when Natasha came to him an hour after initiating the privacy settings in Barnes’ room (He knew they weren’t an item, and debated making a sex joke, but decided ultimately that he liked his balls where they were and refrained.)

He did hand her a set of keys from the garage, checked to make sure she had the StarkPhone he had given her, and reminded her of the private Jet that was available for her use if she needed to fly out of the country. 

Tony’s quiet “be careful,” was met with a small nod and nothing else as she walked out of the workshop and to the garage. Tony went back to making modifications on the newest suit, having Jarvis keep the feed from Loki and Steve’s room going in the background as he worked.

A half hour later he sighed and saved the file on his computer. “J, get Shield on the line. I need to talk to Fury.”

The conversation that followed was pretty unpleasant for both parties involved. Afterwards Tony went up to the common floor to get some scotch.

He desperately needed a drink.

Dinner that night was just Thor, Bruce, James and Tony in the communal kitchen. Overall it was a pretty awkward experience since none of them really knew what to say about Steve’s violent actions from the past two days.

“So,” said Tony to the room at large, “Fury is gonna send one more doctor tomorrow. If something happens to them, then he will try to take Steve out of the Tower and lock him in a specialized Shield Prison…”

“Fury can go to hell. He’s not taking Steve. Not when I just got him back.” Said James venomously. 

“I have a feeling that will end pretty… horribly for Fury. Worse than he thinks it will be.” Said Bruce, weighing his knowledge of both Steve and Shield against each other. That’s not even factoring Loki’s reaction into the equation.

“Fear not Shield Brother,” said Thor with confidence, “we will not allow the Director to take our other brothers away from us on the morrow. I’m sure if we explain the gravity of the situation then Steven will begin to cooperate with the Shield Doctors.”

“Clearly you don’t know Steve,” muttered Bucky under his breath in frustration. Steve was always doing what he thought to be right and damn the consequences. Tomorrow was going to end with them locked in a battle with Shield over who got to keep Steve and Loki. He could already feel it.

“No, I agree with Point Break on this one. We can’t let Shield get a hold of Steve or Loki. Especially if Natasha thinks there is more to this whole situation than we can see right now. I think our best bet would be to somehow get Steve to cooperate with the Doctors. Or- Hey, here’s an idea… BRUCE can be his doctor.” Tony started working out logistics in his head, speaking a mile a minute.

“Wait, What?!?” Said Bruce empathically shaking his head no and interrupting his ‘Science Bro,’ “Tony, I’m not that kind of Doctor. I don’t know the first thing about helping trauma victims who have spent seventy years in space being tortured.”

“No, I agree with Bruce. If he says he’s not qualified I don’t think we should push the issue. Besides he needs to be Steve’s medical doctor, not his shrink as well.” Said James, also cutting off Tony before he could try pushing the issue more.

“How about a video session, that way the Doctor will not be in danger and can start to establish trust with Steven,” suggested Thor.

The others thought it over. “That could work,” said Tony reluctantly, “give K-Cap a chance to get to know the doctor trying to help him before attempting to kill them. Worth a shot anyway.”

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose; “we should probably table this until we talk to Steve and Loki. Speaking of, we need to bring them some food.”

James was up again before Bruce even finished talking, Thor not far behind. Tony just shook his head and went to make another pot of coffee. He had some more ideas he wanted to try out with the new suit before he tried to get to sleep. Not that he was avoiding sleeping. There was just Science! to be done.

Really.

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“Steve, Shield is just sending one more doctor and if this one ends up like the last two, they are going to try to take you away! Try being the operative word, but I don’t want you to be stuck either in the Tower or in a Shield prison for the rest of your life!!” James wasn’t normally this animated, but he and the others had been going around in circles with Steve for the last twenty minutes. The trio had brought food up for the pair and when Steve had half the smoothies (Bruce was trying to see if he could handle more than four this time) finished, James began his rant about Steve needing to cooperate with the shrinks.

Steve seemed like he was ignoring his friend, which was a first for the Avengers to witness, and just continued to sip his smoothies. James seemed to think Steve was doing it on purpose (he was but that was beside the point) and was getting more frustrated as time went by.

When four smoothies were gone, Steve looked like he wanted another one but was holding back, his stomach probably couldn’t handle it very well at that point, he picked up his sketchbook, flipping to a specific drawing. With very careful hands, he pulled the page out of the book and handed it over to Bruce, who was closest to him and subtly trying to do a check up without actually bringing attention to it.

Steve’s raised eyebrow of amusement let Bruce know he was being called out on the move.

“What’s this?” Bruce looked at the drawing, having never seen the person etched out with a lead pencil in pretty good detail. Steve just pointed to the paper again as he put the sketchbook away and glanced over towards the closet. Bruce fought the urge to turn around because he knew no one was back in that direction since he could see everyone else in the room pretty clearly where he was sitting. Instead, Bruce handed the drawing to James, the other most likely to know who the man in the picture was.

James stared at the page blankly for a few moments, racking his brain as he tried to figure out who this guy was. Nothing was coming to mind at all, so he glanced at his friend. Steve just gestured to the paper again; eyebrow lifting as he again glanced around the room. His hand began tapping against the floor, but he didn’t make a move for the StarkTablet that was next to him.

Thor also glanced at the drawing but had no idea who the man was. He shrugged when Bruce and James looked to him in question.

“Jarvis can you scan the picture please? Maybe run it through some facial recognition software?” James held the paper up towards a camera as he spoke.

“Scanning now. I will let you know if there is a match.” Jarvis put the sketch on half the T.V. screen, the other half running through possible matches.

James kept his eyes on the paper, like it held the answers to all the mysteries of the universe. Which at this point, he wouldn’t be surprised if it did.

Steve, seemingly happy that Jarvis was running facial recognition, began working on another drawing. Although this one was being shielded from view from the Avengers in the room. Not even Bruce could see it from his close position.

“Sirs, we have an 85%... 95% match on the Facial Recognition search.” Jarvis said, putting the matching picture next to the sketch. The likeness was almost perfect. Something that wasn’t lost on those that weren’t familiar with Steve’s drawing abilities. “His name is Mr. Sam Wilson, codename Falcon. He was a pararescue-man trained by the military in aerial combat using a specially designed wing pack. He has recently retired from active duty and is currently working at the VA in Washington D.C, counseling soldiers who come back from tours with PTSD.” 

Jarvis put more information up but allowed the Avengers to read it as they saw fit. He also transferred the data to a StarkTabet that was in James’ room, knowing the Sergeant would probably want to review the information further in the next few days. 

James was glancing over the information on the screen, a few dots beginning to connect in his mind. However, the glaring question was HOW did Steve know this guy? He was born in New York- Harlem specifically, but other than that Steve wouldn’t have had any contact with him since he’s been back on Earth.

“What is going on Steve? Do you know this guy?” James turned back to his friend, hoping to get answers other than points and gesturing this time.

Steve had replaced his sketchbook with the StarkTablet. “No, I have never personally met Mr. Wilson.”

“Does Loki know him?” Asked Bruce directing the question to the God, the wording of Steve’s answer seemed off somehow, but he couldn’t place how or why.

“I’ve also never met this man before. I’ve not had reason to be in…. Washington D.C since coming to Earth for the invasion, or in my previous visits while Thor was in New Mexico.” Loki spoke up for the first time that evening. The Trickster God was enjoying the confusion his friend was causing with his vagueness. He was content to watch the drama unfold on its own. It was always better that way.

“So why-“ Thor was cut off from his question as Steve had preempted the question and had a response already typed up.

“You want me to talk to someone. I will talk to him.”

James was looking between the picture, his friend and the screen with Wilson’s information. “So, let me get this straight. You want to go to Washington D.C, just so you can talk to **this** counselor, who you don’t even know, and not the Shield assigned head doctors, who are better trained for this kind of thing?”

Steve shook his head even as he was typing, “No. I want **you** to bring him here. Then I will talk to him.”

Because clearly that made much more sense. 

“How are we going to get him here huh?? Kidnapping? Blackmail? Offering him lots of money?? And who is going to go down and get him? Bruce? Tony?? **THOR??”** Everyone, even Steve and Loki were looking at James as he ranted.

Realization dawned suddenly on James with their stares. Steve wanted **him** specifically to go to D.C. to bring this guy back to the Tower. The thought that Steve wanted him gone was squeezing his heart with more power than he thought it would.

Steve was also holding out a folded piece of paper towards his friend. James took it with a frown and very small voice. “What’s this?”

“That is for Mr. Wilson. He will come if you give him that.” Was all Steve said via the tablet.

James tried to open the paper, but it was sealed shut- almost like magic.

Loki spoke up again with clarification on why the paper was not opening in case the Avengers broke it in their attempts, “I’ve put a magic shield around the fold, as per Steven’s request so that only the man who is meant to see the contents will be allowed to open it.”

James was looking at his friend like he had finally gone ‘round the bend and was headed straight for a small padded room to call his own.

“Loki,” said Thor, “that better not be like the scepter and you are not using the powers of persuasion to bring this man here.”

Loki was hurt by the accusation but hid it behind an indifferent mask. Steve on the other hand was glaring so hard Loki was surprised Thor wasn’t set on fire. He was typing furiously, “Loki did no such thing. How dare you compare this to that controlling glow stick of death! (The Avengers startled at Steve’s using **Tony’s** turn of phrase for the scepter). All he did was seal the paper against tampering by all of you because I knew you would try to analyze it before bringing it to Mr. Wilson. What’s on that paper is between me and him. No one else needs to be privy to the information unless HE wants to share!”

Thor had the grace to realize his mistake. He looked ready to apologize but Loki just shook his head and refused to make eye contact.

Steve turned his gaze back to his friend and noticed the pain he was trying to hide at being sent away, “Bucky, I’m not trying to send you away. But you are the only one who can go.”

On some level James knew his friend was right. Bruce wouldn’t set foot within two states of D.C, Thor wouldn’t be able to blend in at all and Tony was probably banned from the Capitol for pissing off two thirds of the governmental branches.

However, that still didn’t take away his pain. He knew on some level he was probably being child-ish and was relieved that he had come far enough to actually **feel** childish, but that still didn’t make the squeezing on his heart diminish any.

James just gave a tight nod and suddenly stood, making his way out of the room. Steve followed his path with his eyes but didn’t move to go after him.

There was a bit of awkwardness in the room following James’ exit, so Bruce and Thor took that as their cue to leave as well. 

“Steve, I’m going to leave these smoothies here. See if you can finish them before morning alright?” Asked Bruce as he made his way out of the room. Thor was a few steps behind him, having gotten his tray from his Brother and collecting the empty smoothie glasses as well.

Steve just gave a tight nod of acknowledgement but made no move to drink the smoothies.

In the elevator Jarvis spoke up, “Doctor Banner, you asked for me to monitor Mr. Roger’s vital information. I want to inform you that there seems to be something happening that you might want to take a look at, at your earliest convenience.”

“Is there something wrong Jarvis?” Bruce spoke up, slightly concerned.

Jarvis hesitated a moment, “I’m not sure. Perhaps it would be better for you to review the information and make a final decision based on your analysis.”

Bruce nodded, “Alright Jarvis, drop me off at the lab, I’ll take a look at the information this evening.”

“Very good Sir.”

Bruce glanced over at Thor, “Sorry for the abrupt leaving here Thor, but if Jarvis isn’t sure about this, then it’s probably better if I take a look at whatever it is.”

“No worries Doctor Banner, this seems like it is important. I will take these back to the kitchen and see about trying to contact my Jane again. These time zones seem to be thwarting our efforts to contact one another properly.”

“Perhaps Jarvis can help with that,” said Bruce slightly distractedly as the elevator stopped at his lab.

“Aye.” Was all Thor got out before the elevator closed again.

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“You should go to him again.” Said Loki quietly, as to not get picked up by Jarvis’ audio monitoring after the Avengers left them alone. Steve just sighed and continued working on his drawing, one hand tapping on his leg almost agitatedly.

“I will probably not get much sleep tonight either way.” Loki continued, still keeping his voice low, “besides, I have this and the amusing Tablet to keep me company.”

Loki had pulled out the folded paper from his pocket again, spreading it out to look at in his lap. Steve glanced at him from the corner of his eye and turned back a few pages in the book. He carefully pulled out two more drawings, handing them over to his God friend without hesitation.

Loki’s eyes lit up at the drawings, his attention focused completely on them. With a careful, yet slightly unsteady hand he traced the outline of each picture tenderly. 

Like a parent looking at pictures of their children who were no longer with them.

“I…thank you.” Was all Loki could say quietly. Steve reached over with his tapping hand, placing it on Loki’s arm in silent support.

Over the next two hours Steve finished the two extra smoothies and another drawing in his book. This one he also carefully pulled out and gently folded into the pocket of his turtleneck. He tapped Loki on the arm and pointed to the door, so the God knew what he was doing. Loki gave him a small nod and quick glance, most of his attention still on the, now three drawings laid out in front of him.

Silently Steve made his way to the door, not sure if Jarvis would let him through again. The A.I surprised him however and opened the door without prompting. Steve smiled to the ceiling before making his way into the hall over to his friend’s room.

He hesitated a moment outside the room, debating on what to do. Jarvis however took care of that by opening the door just enough for Steve to sneak into the room like he had the night before.

James was lying on the bed with his back facing the door, breathing even, but Steve knew he wasn’t actually asleep. Carefully and slowly the original Super Soldier closed the door and made his way to the front of the nightstand like he had the night before, sliding down against it without a sound, his back to the bed. Jarvis had the lights mostly dimmed, and the shades open like yesterday, so the room wasn’t blanketed in total darkness.

Steve didn’t have his sketchbook this time, or the StarkTablet to keep him occupied. But that didn’t bother him. He was content to just stand guard over his friend like he did for Loki sometimes while they were still up in Space.

After about twenty minutes of silence James let out a deep breath and moved around on the bed, turning to face Steve’s seated position on the floor. Carefully James moved from the bed and sat on the floor next to his friend, about an arm’s length of space between them. Steve had his head resting on his crossed arms on top of his knees and didn’t move a muscle from his position the whole time.

James rested his head against the bed, dozing a little even with the uncomfortable-ness of his seated position. He startled slightly when another twenty minutes went by and he felt something brush against his metal arm.

Steve had closed the distance between them and had put his head against James’ shoulder without the ex-assassin noticing.

The position was reminiscent of when they shared an apartment in the late thirties and forties.

Carefully James moved his metal arm so it was wrapped around Steve’s back, pulling his friend a little closer to his side to help warm him up. His body’s core temperature was still nowhere near what it was supposed to be and that had both James and Bruce worrying.

The fact that Steve allowed the move spoke volumes to James about the trust his friend had in him, even with everything that happened. He felt less like his friend was trying to push him away and more like his friend was trying to reach out for help in the only way he knew how. The how and why were still unanswered, but Steve trusted James enough to be the one to help him, was actively asking James to help him- something that was such a 180 from his normal M.O before the serum… yeah James was not going to let his friend down.

He would go to Russia, China, or the North Pole and back if it would help Steve.

Despite the back-pain James knew he was going to wake up with, he ended up falling asleep after a few hours of comfortable silence sitting with his friend, neither moving away the whole night.

The ex-assassin woke up the next morning with the inevitable back-pain but was again alone in his room. He was about to ask Jarvis what time Steve had left when he realized there was another paper under his metal hand. 

However, the Tower shaking suddenly stopped him from looking at whatever Steve had left him. The paper was carefully placed under his pillow- it could wait until they figured out what that earthquake thing was. James didn’t bother getting out of his pajamas, just grabbed a few guns, ammo and knives and asked for a status update from Jarvis as he made his way into the hallway.

##### -end chapter 9-


	10. Chapter 10: More Comings and Goings…

Steve and Loki sat up extremely alert when the Tower shook that morning. There was a sliver of fear in both their expressions, but it was quickly masked. Suddenly Steve reached out a hand against Loki’s arm, his fingers tapping out patterns pretty quickly again the shirt’s fabric.

Loki looked more alarmed as he shared a look with Steve, who just nodded as if confirming something. Very carefully Loki began to weave his magic around the pair and the room. An illusion of the God manifested on the chair Dr. Garrison had occupied the day before, reading a strangely written novel, (it was strange in that it was written in Ancient Norse)

“Sirs, the Lady Sif of Asgard has just arrived and is being led inside by Master Stark, Thor, and Sergeant Barnes. Doctor Banner wanted me to inform you of her presence at this time.” Jarvis’ voice came over the speaker, the pair quietly thanking the A.I (Loki with words and Steve with a nod) and resumed what they had been doing before the quake.

Steve went back to drawing and Loki went back to playing with the StarkTablet. He was getting slightly addicted to Solitaire, much to Steve’s silent amusement. The copy of Loki only moved when turning the pages of his book.

The pair was pretty sure that Jarvis had alerted Tony to the high level of magic Loki was using, but he was also not hiding what he was doing, unless you were the newest guest to the Tower.

Sif and Loki had a long history that held deeper resentment than even Thor thought possible. The God of Lies was not about to make his true presence known to the other Asgardian and it would be a test to see if Thor would “rat him out” so to speak, on his trickery.

Tony was gleefully monitoring the magic use and tweaking sensors all over the place to see if he could change the readings. The engineer was used to spending long nights/days/nights in the lab, but he was starting to reach his limit as well. That evening he was probably going to pass out, it was just a matter of whether that was in the lab or in his actual bed.

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Lady Sif of Asgard straightened from the near collision she had with the roof of this towering building. The All Father was angry that Thor had not brought the traitor back and it was up to her to ensure they all returned in a timely fashion. Thor always had a soft spot for his brother; Sif just hoped it wasn’t clouding his judgment on what needed to happen. Asgard needed a strong leader to take over after Odin and pandering to Loki’s boy who cried wolf routines would not bring about the peace of mind his people would need from his rule. It would cause more discord and anger from his subjects and possibly throw Asgard into a feud.

No. Thor needed to get his head on straight and figure out what was more important- the traitor or his home world.

A flying metal suit came up to greet her, arms stretched in warning, or threat she couldn’t be sure. Sif took up her own defensive position in response. 

“Halt! Who cometh onto my Tower?” Came a voice from inside the suit.

/He talks oddly. Perhaps it is a machine?/ “It is I, Lady Sif of Asgard, here to seek Thor, her crown prince and heir to the throne.

Before the machine could respond the door to her left flew open to admit Thor and a man with a lot of weapons pointed at her. 

“Hold Shield Brother! This is not a threat, it is the Lady Sif of Asgard.” Thor went over to her, arm out in greeting, “What brings you to Midgard? Is Father well? Am I needed back on Asgard?”

“The All Father wishes to know what is taking you so long in your quest to return the traitor. He needs to be dealt with quickly so as to not cause problems for the people of your home.” Lady Sif returned the arm shake, getting right to the point of her visit. The sooner she accomplished this the better.

The man with multiple weapons shared a look with the flying machine. “Well,” said the machine, “why don’t you come on in and we can talk like civilized people.”

With that the machine flew back down the side of the Tower and the man with the metal arm gestured for her and Thor to go in front of him. Thor nodded at him and led the way back through the door and down the stairs. The three of them arrived at the floor with a balcony and curious furnishings in record time. There was a man standing by the windows, holding a small rectangular machine and talking to himself, “this is really fascinating. J are you sure we are getting all of this properly? There’s nothing interfering with the scans?”

The man gestured for the metal-armed man to join him. The pair staring at the small device in varying levels of fascination, confusion and wonder.

“Lady Sif, these are my Shield Brothers and friends, Anthony, and James. Our other Shield Brother is down on the common floor probably making breakfast. Together we were able to defeat Thanos and his attempt to take over Midgard with the Chitauri.”

Sif’s eyes narrowed, “don’t you mean Loki’s attempts to take over Midgard?”

“Much has been revealed since Father sent me here. Not everything is as straightforward as I was led to believe.” Said Thor vaguely in response, “Come, let us feast and talk more on this together.”

Thor led Sif to another set of doors, which Jarvis opened for him. “The common floor please,” said Thor to Jarvis.

“Of course Sir.” Jarvis closed the elevator and brought them down to the common floor to eat something with Bruce.

“What in the world is Loki doing?!?” Said James loudly after Jarvis informed them that the Asgardians were with Doctor Banner in the kitchen. They were watching the feed from Steve and Loki’s room, with the illusion sitting on the chair and Loki and Steve going through a multitude of facial expressions while they stared at each other and Steve tapped his hand against his leg in apparent agitation.

“Jarvis said he created the illusion within minutes of Sif arriving on the roof. Clearly, he did it for a reason, but is allowing us to see them and the illusion at the same time. I think he might be hiding from Thor’s friend. I just don’t know why.”

James shook his head in confusion. Not sure what to think of this new development. This whole situation kept getting weirder and weirder. James debated on what his next move was. If Sif was going to cause problems, then he wasn’t sure he wanted to go to D.C to find this Sam Wilson person. Although, James was less worried about Loki and more about Steve, so that left him with quite the dilemma. Unfortunately, they couldn’t do anything until the Shield Doctor came and Steve either cooperates or tries to kill them. Again.

The ex-assassin could feel a headache coming on and resisted the urge to pinch his nose in frustration. He tried to think about what Steve would do in his situation. /He would get whatever help I wanted and would do it as fast as humanly possible to make it back to me before too long. /

James knew that to be true. He knew Steve would go to the ends of the Earth to help him if their situations were reversed. /He would probably even feel the same way I do about this whole situation right now. /

“Sir,” said Jarvis, “Thor’s friend, the Lady Sif, is requesting quite strongly to go to see Loki as soon as possible. She is refusing all attempts from Doctor Banner, or Mr. Odinson to refrain from her plan at this time.”

James let out a muttered curse and made his way to the elevator, Tony following right behind, still playing on the StarkTablet and muttering to himself. Almost as if by magic, Tony got a new reading on the StarkTablet that said the illusion of Loki had moved to another empty room on the guest floor. Tony had Jarvis hold off on letting Thor and Bruce know that information but did mention it to James in the elevator.

The pair entered the common floor to lots of heated discussion between Thor and his Lady friend. Bruce was behind the bar, putting together smoothies that he was trying to pack with more nutrients and proteins that would help Steve’s system, while also keeping the texture as thin as possible so Steve would be able to swallow them. It was a fine line to try and balance. 

The information on Steve’s health that Jarvis was monitoring had alarmed the doctor the night before. The regularity of the food was starting to boost things like his heart rate, and core temperature. However, his body was so starved of proper nutrition that what he was in taking wasn’t nearly enough to heal his injuries at a safe rate.

It was almost like the serum was going into survivor mode and was attacking all of the muscles and less major organs that it was actually meant to heal in an effort to heal the most dangerous wounds first. Bruce guessed that Steve was probably in a lot of pain and was trying to hide it from them. With that in mind, Bruce made a large batch of smoothies that he was going to try to sneak up to Steve. Although, with Thor’s friend Lady Sif trying aggressively to get to Loki the Doctor wasn’t sure how to get the drinks and food up there.

James and Tony solved the issue for him, “Ah Bruce! Breakfast is almost done I see! Excellent! Let’s take this all up to my room so we can finish working on that project before the SHIELD psych gets here.” James began putting the smoothies and breakfast sandwiches together onto trays while Tony went over to Thor and Lady Sif. James also handed Bruce Tony’s Tablet, to show him the readings from what Loki was doing. 

Suddenly the mounting tension in Bruce was released and he began helping James load up the trays. “That sounds perfect. We can discuss the readings that I got last night and see what course of action would be best.”

James’ eyes shot over to Bruce in concern, but he didn’t react otherwise. Bruce glanced to the Tablet and back at James, giving him a significant look for a brief moment- a clear message that something was wrong, and they needed to talk.

“Thor! Buddy, it’s so nice to meet more of your Asgardian friends!” Tony went over to Sif and Thor, distracting the pair away from Bruce and James’ conversation. “I’m Tony Stark, the owner of this pinnacle of modern technology you are standing in.”

The genius debated making a comment about Sif’s pretty perfect looking looks, but Pepper’s voice was yelling in his head and Sif was carrying some pretty sharp looking weapons. With some effort Tony refrained from saying something that would get him castrated by two women.

“So, you are the one housing the traitor Loki. I will see him at once.” Sif turned her anger and determination on Tony, who forced himself to not step away from the formidable woman. 

“Yes. It’s come to our attention that not all of Loki’s actions were his own and we are looking into his story and situation before sending him back to Asgard for whatever issues you have with him.”

“Aye,” said Thor, “Asgardian punishment for Loki will need to come second Lady Sif. If we were to wait until after his release on Asgard there is a great possibility that his crimes on Midgard will be things of legend. It would not be fair for these people to not get the justice they deserve as well while we still have the opportunity and while the wound is still fresh.”

“And what of your home world? You are growing weak with all this time you are spending on Midgard. These humans are twisting you from the leader you were born to be.”

**“Hold your tongue Lady Sif. You are a true friend, but you know not what you speak at this time. If you continue in this vain, I will be forced to send you back to Asgard without Loki and with no help from me when your King questions why you failed.”** Thor’s tone went dark, something the others had not heard before and it all gave them pause.

Well, that and he seemed to have turned off the All-Speak filter for his little speech, as the Earthlings couldn’t figure out what he said.

The room fell into an uneasy/confused silence.

“Sir’s,” Jarvis’ voice broke the stalemate, “Your project needs to be attended to before more negative readings start coming through. Might I suggest you move the food upstairs so you can attend to it?”

Jarvis’ voice got both Bruce and James moving again with the food laden trays. They were in the elevator and making their way to the guest floors before either Sif or Tony could respond to what Thor said- even with Tony having no idea what that was.

The genius waited a beat before interrupting Sif as she was about to say something back to Thor and may or may not have a violent act attached to it to make her point. “Well, I have no idea what you said, but I’m sure a monitored visit with the prisoner would not be out of the question. You would need to agree to a few rules though… sign some contracts, make some blood oaths. The usual.”

Thor looked like he was going to protest but a quick look from Tony got him to hold his tongue on the matter. 

“I will not sign a blood oath, nor sign this contract you speak of. What are your rules, so I might consider them.” Said Sif, appalled at the idea of a blood oath. Like a warrior like her would be so dishonorable.

Tony counted off on his fingers, “One, you make no physical contact with the prisoner. He is not to be handled in any way. You can speak to him but that’s it. Two, if Thor says you need to leave the room you leave no questions asked. Three, you have no unsupervised contact with the prisoner. And by supervised, I mean Thor is with you and he is armed, and you are not, in case you try to break one of the other rules. If you don’t agree with those rules, then you are pretty much wasting your time here.”

Tony considered having Jarvis deploy the suit just from the look Sif was sending him.

“The Man of Iron has a point Sif. This is his home and we are guests here. We need to respect his wishes and show him the honor of our people.” Said Thor, his tone in English again, but also a little harder than Tony had ever heard it before.

Sif nodded once and removed her weapons, placing them on the table. When she was finished the three of them went to the elevator, Tony leading the way. “Thor you should go get your hammer from your room and meet us at Loki’s door.”

Thor could’ve just called the hammer but seemed to catch on to whatever plan Tony had in mind. He realized with James and Bruce’s departure that the others knew something he didn’t, and it probably had to do with their guests. He nodded when the elevator opened and made his way to his room at a steady pace. Tony led Sif to the door across from his and the pair waited until Thor had shut his door before Tony announced their presence.

“Yo! Reindeer Games! You have a visitor,” Tony’s voice carried a little louder than it needed to, but he opened the door and pushed his way into the room all the same.

Loki’s illusion was sitting on the chair near a window slowly making its way through The Hobbit. Tony idly wondered where the book came from and made a mental note to ask about it later. It was also not wearing the clothes that Loki liked, just a simple pair of black pants and a gray long sleeve shirt. It glanced up at Tony, with his grand entrance, but returned its attention to the book seconds later. “More Midgardian ‘Doctors’ coming to learn my deepest, darkest secrets? How drool.”

Fake Loki turned a page in its book. And Sif spoke before Tony could get another word in, “No, traitor, it is I, Lady Sif, come to take you back to Asgard so you might face your King’s justice.”

The illusion turned another page, not acknowledging what Sif was saying. Thor and Tony knew at once Loki was trying to rile her up and it seemed to be working. Sif waited for a beat from some kind of response and when none came, she looked more aggravated than before. “What, nothing to say? Afraid of the punishment you shall receive for your crimes traitor? You always were a coward.”

“Ah,” said the illusion, still looking at its book, “there is the Asgardian arrogance I knew I would hear. It’s hard to find such tones here on Midgard, as the humans don’t quite have the same level of grandeur to think themselves as actual gods, although Mr. Stark over here does come very close when he puts his mind to it.”

Tony wasn’t sure if he should take that as an insult or not, but the slight twitch of Thor’s lips that lasted barely a moment helped remove any sting from the words. So far, the God of Thunder was remaining silent, staying back behind Sif but close enough to grab her if she made a move for Loki. 

“Hey!” Said Tony indignantly, “Arrogance is a family trait I’ll have you know. It’s one of my finer qualities!” The inventor was pretty sure his teammates were all laughing or rolling their eyes in the other room.

“If that is all you require, then perhaps it best you take your leave. I am unable to leave this room whilst in the custody of the Midgardians and you have already worn out your welcome.” The illusion looked right at Sif while he said this, before turning back to the book and ignoring the trio.

“Come Sif, let us depart from here, as my brother speaks the truth. He is unable to leave his room whilst in the Tower and you have both seen him with your own eyes and spoken to him. Let us feast before anything else is said on this matter.” Thor led Sif to the door and to the hall, Tony trailing behind the pair amused at the whole conversation he just overheard. He figured he would make himself something to eat as well, before popping over to see how everything was working out with his Science Bro, the Cap’s squared and the real Loki.

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James and Bruce brought their loaded trays to Loki and Steve’s real room as quickly as possible, without arousing suspicion from Thor’s friend. While Bruce was intrigued about the magic Loki was using to produce the projection, he was also more concerned with the readings coming from Jarvis’ scans of Steve. Bruce shared with James the finding from Jarvis’ scans in the elevator on the way up, hoping that the ex-assassin could somehow get Steve to agree to some kind of medical treatment. 

James could feel himself pale with the information Bruce was giving him on Steve’s condition. He even debated with the idea of forcibly dragging Steve to medical in order to get some kind of treatment going. However, James also knew that would be a terrible idea and probably cause more harm than good.

No, Steve needed to go willingly to medical otherwise he could die. As the elevator opened to the guest floors the best ideas James had involved a lot of ranting and forceful yelling at Steve in order for him to agree to get the help he needed. And James also knew from experience that this plan would get him nowhere very quickly.

Bruce knocked on Loki and Steve’s door, while James was still debating with himself. “Morning gentlemen! Loki, it seems like you are pretty busy today with all this magic. I hope you aren’t straining yourself… too much.” 

The twitch of Bruce’s lips took any sting from his words. The doctor set Loki’s tray down in front of the God, while James set the smoothie tray in front of Steve. The two of them shared a look before Loki gave a little smirk and they both started working on their breakfast. 

Steve was halfway through his second smoothie and Loki almost finished his breakfast before Loki spoke again. “It would be unwise for us to hide Steven’s presence in the Tower from the Lady Sif. While I am not a fan of her, she is a formidable warrior and would likely figure it out on her own. I believe the consequences from that would be too great and cause problems for all of us.”

Bruce and James nodded, agreeing with the assessment. “Perhaps we should move the illusion to a different room, so she doesn’t learn of the odd connection the two of you share.” Said James after a moment of thought.

Loki smirked at James’ word, but nodded and with a thought moved the illusion to the room across from Thor. Hopefully that would force Sif to find a room on a different floor, as these were all being used.

Not ten minutes later, the group could hear Tony’s voice in the hall, being unnecessarily loud, even for him. James asked Jarvis to bring up the surveillance footage for the room so they could monitor the conversation. Later, Loki would have the illusion move around the room in various ways, so Jarvis could create some feedback loops in case Sif wanted to monitor the “prisoner” on her own.

Jarvis helpfully reminded the group that the newest Shield psychiatrist would be by in a few hours and they needed to figure out how to hold Steve’s session this go around. The group thought up some ideas on how to hold the session, but ultimately were coming up short, not sure if the Shield psychiatrist would agree, or if it would be worked out in a way that didn’t result in Shield trying to storm the building. 

Later, after the brainstorm session, Bruce pulled James down to his lab to talk about the readings Jarvis had been taking on Steve. Bruce shared his concerns about what the readings meant and wanted James’ thoughts on how to bring up medical attention to Steve in a way that would make him agree to it. Bruce was concerned with the information that Jarvis was collecting and the resulting consequences for Steve’s body if it wasn’t properly taken care of. However, short of strapping Steve to a medical bed and forcing some IV’s they weren’t sure how to get Steve to cooperate.

Jarvis informed the pair that Thor and Tony had somehow convinced Lady Sif to go with him to the streets below and spend the day helping the people who were at ground zero for the attack. Thor had played it off as a way to show her how the people were suffering from the attack, but it was also a good way to have her out of the Tower when the Shield Psych showed up.

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By the time the Shield psychologist arrived the Avengers still at the Tower had managed to put themselves on edge, not sure how Steve would react to this newest attempt at someone talking to him and the fall out that would happen from the meeting. The group decided that Steve would do the session via TV Communication, as the doctor didn’t want the Avengers to be present during the meeting and they couldn’t guarantee Steve’s cooperation. Something about the team influencing Steve’s responses or interactions with her. 

James personally thought that was bull, but also remembered the lack of people present at his evaluations and held his tongue. Ultimately it was Bruce hinting about getting angry that got the doctor agreeing to their plan. The ex-winter soldier watched the session again from his room, as the doctor sat outside Steve’s door, speaking into the tablet, watching Steve’s lack of reactions, and jotting down the occasional note. 

Loki was up in the penthouse with Tony and Bruce, fixing the hole created when Hulk smashed the scepter’s control over his body. Loki had been fighting the control enough that he could complete his part of the plan, but the Hulk had succeeded in knocking his head around enough to let him get full control over his body again. The damage the Hulk had caused had been more than worth being free from Thanos’ hold. 

It was only when Jarvis informed the trio that Steve had thrown one of the chairs at the wall, right where the doctor was sitting that they went back to the guest suites floor. The wall was solid enough that the doctor was safe, but the chair was completely decimated with the force at which Steve threw it. Bruce was a little amazed that Steve was able to pull that off with how his body was regressing at the moment.

Steve was sitting on the floor in his usual position, content with ignoring the doctor’s picture on the screen of his own tablet, which was lying on the floor next to him facing the ceiling. The doctor could barely make out his arm moving as he drew in his sketchpad, and not reacting to anything she said. She made some notes on her pad, using the same shorthand as Garrison when she noticed there was finally movement from Steve in the room. 

Said super soldier turned over the Starktablet, so the picture went black. There was very little sound coming from the room, which intrigued the doctor, before finally something crashed into the wall right in front of her. She let out an undignified yelp, dropping both her tablet and pad, and moved away from the door, aware of the fates of her predecessors. James was at her side in an instant, pulling her down the hall and away from the room, a blank expression on his face.

Tony, Bruce and Loki were out of the elevator minutes later. Tony directed the doctor back into the elevator going on about not needing her services anymore. “It’s not you, it’s us. Really. It’s more of a: don’t call us and we won’t call you, situation at the moment. So, you get to live to doctor another day and we find someone else to take on the crazies.”

Before the doctor even realized what was happening, she was being escorted out of the Tower by Stark’s security and the building was closing up behind her. Tony had issued a lockdown incase Shield tried to take measures to acquire Steve and Loki based on this incident. The doctor sighed at the situation, knowing she wouldn’t get anywhere with the Avengers at the moment and went back to Shield to make a report to her superiors. The so-called- Captain’s- aversion to Shield was a nuisance, but it would be taken care of in time. 

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Back on the guest suites floor, James and Bruce shared a look before they both led Loki back to the room and consequently Steve, who was again moved into the corner, same as the last two attempts at a session with a Shield doctor. The original super soldier was standing this time, a look of defiance on his features and arms crossed over his chest- both bringing back memories to James of the times he had rescued Steve from bullies in the twenties and thirties. 

Steve started tapping his fingers against his elbow the moment the trio made it into the room, sharing a creepy telepathy moment with Loki again as the God suddenly said, “Steven would like to remind you that he is willing to speak with Mr. Wilson, just as soon as you can bring him here.”

James looked resigned, yet determined, “are you SURE that you will speak with this Wilson guy if we bring him here?”

Steve turned his attention fully on his friend, nodding once he had eye contact with James.

James sighed and turned, “alright. Bruce, will you keep a close eye on him until I get back? I’ll try to get Mr. Wilson to agree to come with me and get back here as soon as possible. I hope I can convince him before the end of the week… so I don’t have to resort to kidnapping.”

Steve rolled his eyes at James’ words, and Loki snorted. “Believe me, Mr. Barnes. If you show Mr. Wilson the paper, he will be more than willing to come here. No magic involved mind you, only what’s keeping the paper sealed.”

James didn’t say anything else in response to Loki, just made his way to his room and packed his bag. He wasn’t happy about leaving Steve, especially if Shield decided to be a threat. But he wanted his friend to get better and if this Wilson person could somehow help him, then that’s whom Bucky would find.

Tony got James a car and called ahead for his private helicopter to be ready at his airstrip. James would be in DC before nightfall, and he had a safe house already lined up. He would do some more research on this Sam Wilson on the chopper and start his recon tomorrow- starting with the VA that Wilson worked at and moving on to some of his normal routines. He already had Jarvis analyzing any public surveillance that had consistent sightings of Wilson that might give him insight into his normal routine.

“No worries RoboCap, Jarvis will continue to monitor SpaceCap and if anything changes you will be the second to know- as Bruce will be the first, cause he’s actually here and will be able to help him. But that’s beside the point. You just focus on finding this Wilson guy and persuading him to come back to New York.” Tony’s babbling was doing little to help ease James’ tension over the situation, so he tuned the young Stark out and got into his car.

If James noticed the darkening circles under Tony’s eyes indicating his lack of sleeping, he didn’t mention it. To caught up in his own mind to talk with his fellow Avenger.

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Back upstairs Bruce got Steve to agree to another check up, after lunch on the commons floors. Loki went as well, but kept his magic cloaking his movements in the event that Sif and Thor returned early or without warning. But as Bruce could see him the scientist didn’t comment on the decision. Steve neglected to bring his tablet, either content to let Loki translate for him or just eat in silence. The super soldier was trailing behind the other two only slightly, but Bruce chalked it up to being upset his friend had left the Tower. 

The scientist didn’t realize that throwing the chair with the force Steve had used was actually hindering his body’s attempts at healing itself. Because of this the regression was speeding up just a little more and Steve was feeling that as he walked. Loki also didn’t notice anything, as he was focusing on the large amounts of magic he was using at the moment. His body was well on its way to being fully healed, but he also had the illusion to uphold and move around, and he had to continue to shield himself from Sif.

Tony came back to the commons floor and began quizzing Loki on the magic he was using and having Jarvis take scans that he could later analyze. Loki answered some of the questions with as few words as possible, but a look from Steve had him sighing and giving the scientist a little more detail at times.

After lunch and Steve’s exam, the same Bruce usually did on the soldier so there were no surprises, the pair decided to head back to their shared room for some time alone. They ended up staying in there all afternoon- sitting in comfortable silence sketching/meditating and took dinner in the room as well. Although that was more because Thor and Sif had returned from their day helping the New Yorkers clean up debris than anything else.

The three Avengers and Sif had a bit of a tense meal. Lady Sif still seemed angry, but Bruce and Tony were having trouble figuring out the source of that anger as the Asgardians barely spoke through the meal. Tony ended up taking a call from Fury, using that as an excuse to leave the room and pulling Bruce along with him. Although the scientist made his way to his lab, not wanting to be a part of Tony’s conversation with Shield. Thor helped Sif find a room on a different floor from the one he was staying on and showed her how to work the human devices and technologies with Jarvis’ assistance. 

As the sun was beginning to set Jarvis informed the Avengers that Clint was arriving and in the elevator. Tony instructed Jarvis to stop the elevator at his lab, where he could talk with the archer and get an update on Phil. Clint had been pretty silent on his end, only really speaking with Natasha via text and after the Widow left on her personal mission, word from the archer stopped completely. Tony was anxious to hear about Phil’s condition and get Clint’s thoughts on their guests.

Clint got off the elevator at the lab, wearing a blank expression on his face, but holding himself pretty tensely. He looked like he could grab one of his arrows at the drop of a hat, his hand twitching every now and again.

“Phil is awake and able to move around with a pretty good range of motion- especially considering everything that his body has been through in the last two weeks,” Clint preempted Tony’s question, not wanting to hear the inevitable babble that would come with it. “For some reason he seemed really adamant that we could trust Loki and Roger’s story. But he wouldn’t tell me why.”

Tony’s eyebrows shot up at Clint’s words, “Really? Has Phil lost his mind? Maybe he needs his head examined. That’s pretty odd behavior for him.”

If anything, Clint seemed to get tenser, “I want to speak with them. Find out how Loki managed to spell Phil like he did. Because he must’ve done **something** to make Phil wake up and react like he did.”

“It will have to wait until tomorrow. Thor’s got a lady friend over from Asgard. Who is bent on taking Loki back with her ASAP. Loki has been shielding himself from her, but not us; which has been fascinating to study, let me tell you. Anyway, Thor seems reluctant to let Loki and Sif be in the same room, so we are limiting interactions with him until she is out of the building. Thor’s somehow convinced her to go out and help with the debris collection and heavy lifting for places that can’t afford it. They will be gone most of the day tomorrow. You can ask your questions then.” 

Clint seemed like he wanted to argue but stopped himself. “…I would like to review some of the footage of the last few days as well. Maybe I’ll do that first.”

Coming to a decision, Clint turned around and headed for the elevator. Tony quickly told him which floors everyone else was on before the doors shut and Clint was heading up to find a room. Tony pondered the odd conversation they had before quickly losing interest and going back to studying the magic Loki was emitting. He and Jarvis were close to figuring out how he was manipulating the energy for his “magic” of that he was sure. It also gave his mind something else to focus on other than the total blackness that was space as he fell through it back to Earth.

##### End Chapter 10


	11. Chapter 11: Welcome to Wonderland

As the sun rose in the nation’s capital James left his safe house, an apartment he and Natasha had bought as one of their many covers. He had spent the majority of the flight to DC and the first night at the safe house going over the information Jarvis had found on Sam Wilson. The importance of this task of weighing heavily on James’ shoulders, but the insanity behind it was also pulling at his mind. James had absolutely no idea how this Wilson person would be able to help Steve, let alone be convinced to come back to New York to try.

Wilson had just finished his tours in the Middle East, after having lost his partner to enemy gunfire. The para-rescuer was a constant figure at the VA, working on earning his counseling certificate and starting a psychiatrist’s degree. The counseling certificate was almost complete, and Wilson was making himself well known with the members of the VA as both a fellow soldier trying to heal and a good ear to listen to when things become too much. 

The vet began his day with a run around the monuments of the national park, which was becoming more and more routine. He ended up finishing after a half hour with a solid pace that left him feeling energized and ready to face the day. Sam headed back to his house for breakfast and a shower then made his way to the VA to sit in on his group’s meeting. Lunch was at a small café close to Wilson’s home, then the afternoon was spent working on the counseling certification. Dinner was a quiet affair with Chinese take out and some channel surfing, followed by a night full of unrest and terrors. The whole process continued for another two days before James felt confident enough to try to engage Wilson. 

On the morning of James’ fourth day in DC, the ex-soviet figured he had enough intel to approach Wilson with the insanity that Steve was proposing. As Wilson was working his way around the monuments at the national park, James began a run of his own. Lapping Wilson a few times and calling out a friendly, “on your left,” as he passed. Wilson of course took the bait and attempted to keep up on his last lap, sprinting the last few hundred yards before giving up and slowing down to cool off under a tree. James finished that lap and made his way around to where Wilson was relaxing, hoping to get him involved in a conversation. “Should I be calling an ambulance for you? You kinda sound like an old friend of mine.”

Sure enough, the vet was willing to start a conversation with James, mostly needling him about the run, but always a good way to get the ball rolling. “Nah, just a new set of lungs. You realize you just ran like 13 miles in like half an hour, right?”

“Huh,” said James with a smirk, “I musta got a late start.”

“Yeah, well you should be ashamed of yourself. Should take another lap. Seriously, did you finish it already? I must’ve blinked and missed it.”

James rolled his eyes. Steve and Wilson would get along like white on rice. Of that he was sure. The ex-soviet nodded towards the logo on Sam’s shirt, “So, what unit were you with?”

James already knew the answer, but thought it would be a good conversation opener, a way to ease into the crazy that was apparently Steve. “58th Pararescue. But now I’m working down at the VA.”

Sam held out a hand, “Sam Wilson,” James helped him up, “James Barnes. My friends call me Bucky.”

“I figured as much. What with everything that just happened in New York. That was some crazy shit man, I’m glad you guys were able to put a stop to it. I got some family living in Harlem, but they were thankfully down in Florida when shit hit the fan. That must’ve freaked you out after everything that happened and how they found you frozen like that.” Shield had put together a statement when they found Steve’s shield about how they had found “Captain America” frozen in the plane he had flown into the Arctic to keep America safe. It was only Shield itself that knew the truth about him, and James planned to keep it that way.

James hummed and nodded, “Yeah that was a bit of a shock. Kinda a weird way to be reintroduced back into the world. But I was always a bit of a sci-fi fan as a kid, so it was easier to roll with. Kinda disappointed about the lack of flying cars though. I’ll be honest. How long have you been with the VA?”

“I’ve only been there a couple months now. I started out as one of the guys sitting in the back and slowly found my way to the front of the groups. It helps sometimes. To talk things out.” Was Wilson’s response. The vet was eying James with a slightly unreadable expression, but the ex-soviet wasn’t quite sure why. /Natasha would’ve had him eating out of her hand already/ James thought ruefully. 

“Nah, I’m personally not much of a talker these days. Kinda hard finding people with shared life experiences and all that.” James tried to keep to partial truths, knowing that would be his best bet. He thought he might let Wilson get back to his routine soon, not wanting to overstep on their first meeting. With his words though, the air around the pair got a little awkward. /Perhaps I should head out and try again later. I don’t think I’m ready to bring up the reasons for talking with him yet. /

James turned like he was going to leave when Sam spoke up from behind him, “It’s your bed right?”

Intrigued James turned again, the pleasant goodbye dying on his tongue before it could even form. “What?”

“Your bed. It’s too soft. Feels like a marshmallow is going to swallow you whole, or a bed of feathers that could smother you at any moment. The guys, we always used to sleep with rocks for pillows like cavemen. Sometimes it’s hard to readjust to the simple things.” Sam had a knowing look in his eye as he nodded towards James.

James froze with the force of clarity that hit him. /Of course! THAT’s why Steve stays on the floors and away from the bed and furniture…/ It had been so long since James had had a similar problem that he completely forgot that something so small would actually be a huge hurdle for Steve. Suddenly all his struggles after cryo came flooding back to him and he began to understand his friend with a new level of understanding.

The look on James’ face must’ve shown his internal struggle, because Sam was next to him in an instant, the tired look replaced with one of concern. “Hey man, I get it. Really. You were probably under for a long time and then everything hit the fan in New York. You probably haven’t had a chance to adjust. Get to know the city again. But see, all of us coming back from overseas, we are faced with similar problems. Not on the scale of aliens attacking the states, or even the changes that musta happened in the last sixty plus years, but the beds, and sounds that you’re so used to hearing suddenly not there or creeping up on you suddenly at odd times. Trust me. I totally get it. And you’re really not alone.”

James was silent for another minute processing everything. Finally, his mouth started running before his brain had a chance to catch up. “I- you wouldn’t be willing to come back to New York with me, would you? I have this friend who could really use your help.”

The sentence sounded lame even to James as he said it, but by the time his brain had caught up with his mouth it was too late. Sam was shaking his head in the negative, hardly believing the “friend” story that James was feeding him. He’d seen it a hundred times before. “Nah man. I have a lot to do down here. I’m working on getting my counseling certification and looking into classes to take. But your friend is always welcome to come down to DC, or they could visit the VA up in New York. I started there when I first got back from overseas. Maybe I could make some calls for you…”

James shook his head, “That’s alright-” He was going to elaborate when both of their phones beeped almost at the same time. Sam pulled his out- it was a reminder to bring some snacks for the next group meeting over at the VA, while James’ was a text from Clint. The pair held up their phones, a slight apology for needing to head off before they both cracked a small smile and nodded to each other in a see you later kind of way.

“See ya around man!” Said Sam as he turned to jog towards his car. 

“Yeah, definitely,” came James’ quiet reply as the vet jogged off. Clearly James was going to need to show him that paper from Steve in order to get him to agree to come, if even for a few days. 

The soldier looked back down at his phone, concern etched onto his features as he made his way back to his own car. The cryptic /there’s a code/ text from Clint was a little confusing, but James wanted to be in a secure location before calling. He shot back a quick /need 7/ before getting into his car and heading for his apartment.

Just as James was pulling the door closed to his apartment his phone was ringing, Clint’s name flashing on the caller ID. “Hey hon, just got home. What’s up?”

The code flowed flawlessly from James’ mouth. Basically, he had just gotten back to the apartment and needed to do a sweep before he could respond properly. That would give Clint a chance to elaborate on his text, but also give him an update on his friend’s status.

“That finger-tapping thing that your friend Rogers does. It’s not a nervous tick. It’s a code. He’s communicating with Loki, like a weird sort of Morse code. I’ve been keeping an eye on the two of them and while Tony is convinced there is some kind of telepathy thing going on, I don’t think that’s the case. If he had the ability to communicate telepathically why didn’t he do that with you?”

James paused for a moment in his surveillance search of the apartment. That actually made sense. Seeing as how Steve couldn’t talk and he had a mouth that he couldn’t ever keep shut… not when it mattered most. **“Son of a bitch!” ******

********

Clint gave James a moment to process that before continuing. “I’m going to speak to Loki in a little bit. See if he will shed some light on this tapping code. Did you have any success with your mission?”

********

James finished the sweep, “Not too much luck. I just spoke with him this morning, but I didn’t get too far. I’m wondering which would be worse- knocking him out and dragging him to the city OR giving him the paper that Steve seems to think will get him to show up on his own.”

********

“Huh… so a normal Tuesday then?” Clint’s amused tone helped James calm down a little. He was starting to feel tense thinking about how to get Sam Wilson to come to New York, but that made sense. 

********

“Yep.” James rolled his eyes before sobering up a moment to ask about Steve, “How is he doing anyway?”

********

Clint hesitated a moment before answering- something James knew to mean everything wasn’t as right as it could be. “He’s still refusing medical care from Bruce. But he’s interacting through the StarkPad and speaking with Loki all the time. He tends to ignore Thor and Sif though; he seems to be following Loki’s lead on that front.”

********

James knew Clint was leaving out information and he debated whether he wanted to know now or after trying to get Wilson to agree to come with him. Apparently, his mouth was running off again without his brain’s permission, “What aren’t you telling me.”

********

There was another hesitation, “The smoothie things that Bruce is having him drink aren’t enough. It’s helping a little, but his physical condition keeps deteriorating. It’s getting worse each day and he refuses to let Bruce treat him in anyway other than what he’s already done.”

********

“I should-” James started to say but Clint cut him off, “No. He asked you to do this. You need to finish it. There is nothing you can do here that Bruce isn’t already doing and aside from worrying about him in person, I doubt you will be able to change his mind. He apparently needs something from this Wilson guy, and you are the only one he trusts enough to make that happen.”

********

His fellow sniper’s words made sense to James. But a part of him wanted to say screw what Steve wanted and go back to New York to mother hen him in person. Clint seemed to pick up on his line of thought though, “Look man. You might think this is crazy. And maybe it is. But Rogers somehow knows something related to this Wilson guy and whatever it is, he seems to think it’s important. Really important for him to send you all the way to DC to bring him back here. I will keep an eye out here and you can mother hen him until the cows come home when you get back with a completed mission, alright? I may not fully trust Loki, but Rogers seems to grow on you- you know?”

********

“Yeah, like a fungus sometimes,” said James sourly.

********

“Look try the “magic paper” thing first and if that doesn’t work, then knock him out and drag his ass here, okay? Then you can take out your frustrations on Rogers when you get back. I’m gonna go have that talk with Loki, okay? Just stay focused and be your usual charming self.” Clint hung up before James could come back with a response of his own, other than an eye roll.

********

James decided to get some lunch and head over to the VA. He would make one more attempt at getting Wilson to come to New York and if that didn’t work, he would weigh the consequences of knocking him out and dragging him there. 

********

/Lunch first. Kidnapping later… that’s usually done better with a full stomach. / James joked with himself as he made his way out of the apartment, taking his small bag with him and knowing he wouldn’t be back there again for a while. 

********

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********

A couple hours later when James walked into the VA, he heard a meeting happening at one of the smaller rooms. He poked his head in and ended up leaning against the door as he watched the interactions of the returned vets and the counselor leading the session. It wasn’t Sam, but James could definitely picture the ex-soldier up there leading a session and helping the soldiers who were trying to find their way in a world that no longer made sense. 

********

“Well look what the cat dragged in,” James turned when he heard Wilson’s voice come up next to him. 

********

He nodded in greeting, “Just thought I’d pop my head in and see if you had a free minute this afternoon? I was hoping to maybe finish the conversation we were having earlier today.”

********

Sam nodded towards the hall he had just come from, “I share an office with my mentor, but I think I could persuade him to give us a little time to chat uninterrupted. It might cost you an autograph though, just warning you now.”

********

Fifteen minutes later, James had indeed signed an autograph, but the pair were guaranteed an uninterrupted afternoon for a conversation. Something James was thankful for. As Sam’s mentor left the room, a retired combat soldier who nodded respectfully at James and muttered a “thank you for your service,” James did a quick visual sweep of the room. When the door closed, he went up to it, waited a beat and turned the lock. He then positioned his chair in a corner where he could see both the sole window, and door at the same time before sitting down.

********

Sam raised a steady eyebrow at what James was doing but didn’t outwardly protest. Though he did eye the door with a certain level of skepticism. It wasn’t a hard lock to get through though if he needed to, just the little ones of the knob that would stop people coming in unannounced and give them some warning if someone was there. Sam ended up pulling his chair away from the desk so he could sit facing James but also in a way, so his back was away from the window and door. Something about the way James was acting was setting off an alarm in his head and he wanted to be prepared for whatever it was. “So which part of this morning’s conversation did you want to continue?”

********

Sam figured it would be good to let James take the lead for this to help ease his mind a little. Before speaking though, James pulled a small device out of his pocket and placed it on the edge of the closest table, turning it on in the process. “This device will cancel out any bugs or surveillance equipment currently being used in this office. It will also scramble your phone while it’s in range so nothing can be used on it remotely. As for why I’m here, I really do have a friend in New York that I would like for you to come see. I realize that sounds like I’m feeding you a line, but I’m not. This friend of mine is in a bad way and for whatever reason refuses to talk with the shrinks we are trying to get him to speak with. He said he would only speak with you and no one else.”

********

Sam crossed his arms and sat back a little in his chair. “Alright. Let’s say I believe you for a moment. Why would he want to speak with me of all people? I’m not even a fully certified counselor yet and I haven’t even started my psych degree.”

********

“That’s just the thing. I don’t **know** why he wants you. Just that those are the terms he is laying out on the table.” James ran a hand through his hair, his frustration with the situation starting to shine through a little.

********

“Alright, why don’t you start with a name? Maybe I know this friend from somewhere and helped him through something before?” Sam, despite his skepticism, was starting to get curious. It’s not every day a friend of Captain America’s knew **him** and needed **his help** with something.

********

“Before I do that. I need you to realize that what I am about to say is breaking like a million confidentiality laws and will land us both in deep shit if it gets repeated outside of this space.” At Sam’s weary nod James continued, “You know I am not the original Captain America. However, the story that came out a few months back is also a load of bull. When I went and joined the war effort in the forties, it was because I was drafted. What didn’t hit the papers was that my unit, which was captured by the Red Skull and Zola, was experimented on. Zola was trying to create his own serum, and I was one of the test dummies. In fact, I was the only one to survive the tests. A fact that later saved and cursed me when I fell off the train in the Alps.”

********

James paused for a moment, lost in the memories. He could still see Steve’s face as he fell to his death. It was one of his most prominent nightmares. The ex-soviet refused to make eye contact for this next part of his tale, “I was captured by the Russians in that ravine and turned into a machine for their use. It took years to break me, but when they finally managed it, I was turned into a machine and I did whatever I was told. Shield never found me frozen at the bottom of the mountain. in the late 90’s I somehow managed to deflect from the Russians and made my way back to America, where I met some allies and they helped me get my head on straight. When Shield needed someone to take on the mantle of Captain America, I was the first and only choice. I only did it to honor the memory of my friend, whose body was never found in the wreckage of the Valkyrie last year.”

********

“Man, that is some seriously messed up shit. I’m sorry about what happened to you, and I’m glad you managed to get out. Being a POW is rough, no matter how you look at it but to break yourself out takes a serious amount of inner strength.” Sam looked like he wanted to say more, but James cut him off before he could, “My friend. The one I’m here to get you to come see is the original Captain America. It’s Steve Rogers.”

********

Sam could feel his jaw as it made its way to the floor and stayed there. This had to be some kind of joke. “-the hell?” was all he could manage to say or process.

********

James looked him in the eye, “Yeah. I’m not completely clear on the details myself. Just that this invasion that happened was somehow an escape attempt by both Loki and Steve, who had gotten sucked up into space via a portal on the Valkyrie.”

********

The look of shock was so strong on Sam’s face that James almost wished he had a camera to show the others, while another part thought he might need medical attention again. With the surveillance scrambler on though, his phone wouldn’t work, and he didn’t want Wilson to think this was a joke. James timed how long it took for Sam to regain the ability to speak. It was a solid four minutes- James was slightly impressed.

********

Sam got up and began pacing, “you have to be shitting me?! An _**Alien Invasion**_ was the best plan they could come up with???!?! Seriously??? My GOD, what about all those _**people**_ who were at ground zero?!? Man, that is some fucked up shit.”

********

James let him pace, then return to his chair, hands cradling his head as he worked through all of the implications of what James just told him. It was another minute and a half before Sam’s head shot up again as he started to become a little hysterical, “wait. You’re telling me that the _**original Captain America**_ knows who I am and wants me to _**counsel him**_ through _**seventy years**_ of _**space related trauma?!?!?!?**_ How in the _**WORLD**_ would I even _**BEGIN**_ to be his first choice of mental doctor- this has to be a joke. Captain America is pulling a fast one on _**me. ME.**_ Okay, jokes over. Who put you up to this?”

********

The blank face that James was giving him in response had Sam starting to hyperventilate again. The ex-soldier started to mumble through some calming exercises before he completely lost his mind and did something crazy, like punch Captain America. When he thought he could speak with a semi normal tone he did, “you can’t be serious.”

********

“Look,” said James, “I know this sounds insane. Believe me _**I KNOW.**_ But I promise it is entirely the truth. I really don’t know how he knows you, or knows _**of you,**_ but he does, and he asked me to bring you back to New York so he could talk to you. He won’t talk with anyone else with a degree, so I thought, why the hell not. Take a chance on the guy who Steve is willing to talk to, degree or no degree, and bring him into the fold. I’m leaving right before five to head back to New York. Tony Stark lent me his private helicopter to get down here and I need to get back to the Tower to check on Steve. Make sure he’s doing alright.” The worry in James’ tone seemed to release some of Sam’s anger at being played.

********

“What do you mean knows _**of me**_?” Sam narrowed his eyes at the oddity of that wording.

********

“Steve drew your picture, with almost one hundred percent accuracy. He was an artist before all this Captain America crap.” Was James’ quick response.

********

“Did he have a photo to go by? How did he even know who I am? As far as I can tell I’ve never met the man and I feel like I would remember if I had.” Sam had an air of caution around him now. Something wasn’t adding up and he couldn’t figure out what it was.

********

“He didn’t. At least we never saw a picture, and Loki never used his magic to hide anything, so we have no idea how he knew who you are. It could be he did research before we found him. I don’t know. All I do know is he handed me your picture and said he would only talk to you and asked me to bring you back to New York. Which is why I’m here.” Sam realized with a start that their meeting that morning hadn’t been a chance at all. This whole thing had been orchestrated by the other man, who also seemed to be hesitant about something- was holding something back.

********

“So that’s it. He just asked you to bring me back to New York?” Sam paused a beat, “How do I know this isn’t some kind of kidnapping attempt? Lure me in with crazy stories then throw my body into the Potomac?”

********

With some muttered Russian, James seemed to deflate, “He also gave me this, which I can’t open,” James demonstrated trying to pry the paper edges apart before handing it over to Sam, “He said if you saw whatever was on that paper you would be willing to come back to the city with me. Listen, I really don’t know what’s on that paper- he said it was for your eyes only. And I know that this keeps getting weirder and weirder, but I don’t know how else to convince you.”

********

Sam looked between the paper and James twice before turning his attention completely to the folded note. A part of him realized the insanity of what he was about to do, but curiosity finally got the better of him. There was some seriously crazy shit happening and Sam found himself intrigued despite all of it. In his mind he could see this turning out like the stupid horror movies he and Riley used to watch on leave. Where you yelled at the person about to open the door because you know the murder is behind it, but they do it anyway.

********

The vet unfolded the paper, glanced over it once. Froze. Glanced at it a second time with more intent, and a seriously aghast complexion- he looked like he was seeing a ghost, or the paper was going to swallow him whole any minute.

********

“Get out.” Sam’s angry yet quiet words broke the strange atmosphere that had taken over the room.

********

“What-” James was cut off, “Get. Out. Now.” Sam’s anger was radiating through his whole body. Without a word James knew this was a lost cause and made a strategic retreat, forgetting to grab the surveillance scrambler in the process. Clearly Steve was wrong about whatever was on that paper- James still didn’t know- and it wouldn’t be bringing Sam Wilson to New York. He began debating the merits of kidnapping as he plastered a fake smile on his face for the people who were working or visiting the VA that day.

********

Sam was too caught up in memories to hear the door unlock, open and close again all within the span of a minute. The picture was two-fold. On the one side was him and Riley, in their tent the way it looked before their last mission together. Everything was right where they left it, even down to the socks strung over their boots. There were two air bubbles with parts of their last conversation, where they were again talking about what they would do when they finished that tour. The other side of the paper was a note, 

********

_“The dreams we dreamt were huge, and the possibilities endless. Don’t give up your dream to live mine. You can do more and be more if you just take this final leap. Keep the wings alive. I’ve still got your six”_ – Riley

********

There was a small picture of them both with the wings under the note, but when Sam looked closer, he saw the subtle differences between the two. His were the same, but Riley’s were angel wings. He could almost see the feathers, their clothes, and hair moving with the wind.

********

Sam was moving before he even realized it was a conscious decision. The vet grabbed the surveillance scrambler, righted the chairs, wrote a quick note/apology and made his way home to grab a quick go bag. He didn’t even double check what he put in, just getting a couple things before making his way to the airport. He knew the roads well enough to get there without too much difficulty, and managed to beat James, who had gotten caught in some of the rush hour traffic that started pretty early in DC.

********

Sam’s mentor came into the room a half hour later. Everything was in its place, but there was a note on his desk saying the vet wanted to take a little time to make sure his family was safe from the fiasco that happened in New York. He would send an email with more definite information when he got there and was able to assess his family’s home. There was also an apology for the abrupt leaving, but he had gotten a call that worried him from a close friend who was at ground zero, and he’d decided to take that time offered a few days before to help said friend.

********

In fact, James actually let out a disbelieving curse at the sight of Sam standing next to his car in the lot. It was a private airstrip, but Jarvis had worked his magic, putting Sam on the approved list a few days prior in case he decided to show up.

********

“Listen, I’m not saying I believe all of that shit you just told me. But I will say this… If it is a load of bull, I _**will**_ punch you in the face. And whoever else you have in on this little trick of yours.” Sam grabbed his bag and made his way towards the helicopter, which was powering up.

********

James barely had time to nod in confusion before he was also moving to the chopper. The ex-soviet had no idea what had happened between him leaving and Wilson showing up at the airstrip, but he wasn’t going to question his luck. Although if he found out Loki _**had**_ used some kind of mind-altering magic on the paper then Sif would be the least of Loki’s worries. James would make sure of that.

********

The pair made the trip in relative silence. It wasn’t until they got close to the City and a strange portal shot up into the sky, originating from Tony’s landing pad, that James cursed and urged the pilot to go faster with some not so idle threats.

********

Something serious was happening at the Tower and no one was communicating to him about what that something was. Which meant they were going in blind. Even Jarvis wasn’t responding, which had James even more on edge.

********

James didn’t wait for the chopper to land on the roof, just jumped out when it was about ten feet up. Sam followed his lead, concerned about whatever was upsetting the ex-soviet so badly.

********

But nothing could’ve prepared them for the Loki worthy level of chaos happening in the Penthouse.

********

********

#### End Chapter 11

********

********


	12. While Bucky’s Away All the Crazies Will Play…

#### Four Days Earlier…

Clint had Jarvis stop the elevator on the floor that Natasha had chosen a room. Bruce was also on this floor, but the archer was pretty sure that Bruce’s room was barely ever going to be used while Science! was within easy reach. At least while Clint was at the Tower. Either way, Clint took a room closer to Natasha’s than Bruce’s just in case the scientist wanted some extra space and asked Jarvis to pull up the Tower’s security footage from the last four days. Specifically, where Rogers and Loki were being held. 

Right away Clint noticed the odd tapping that the supposed original Captain America was doing. He also noticed the way both “guests” moved around the provided space. James was too close to all of this, that Clint realized right away, and his demeanor was subtly influencing the others. Thor didn’t need too much convincing though, as he wanted to believe in his brother’s innocence. But Tony and Bruce were unconsciously falling into line behind what James believed was the truth which made all of their responses to the last few days circumspect. 

While Clint wanted to believe Phil’s opinion, his fellow agent and friend was not providing evidence to support his claims. Clint used his anger at what Loki had done to look at the situation from a different perspective. He wanted to analyze the interactions between his teammates and their “guests,” but he wasn’t going to be sugarcoating any of his thoughts. 

No, if Loki and this Steve turned out to be playing them then Clint would figure out how and convince the others. If it turned out that what Phil and James believed was true, then Clint would try to find a way to get over this anger he had at Loki.

Maybe.

So, the next few hours for the archer were spent reviewing the footage from the moment the quinjet landed at the Tower to the move to the actual room provided on the guest floors. Certain aspects of the footage were not adding up for Clint, it was a gut feeling, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on why.

/Maybe it’s because outside of facial gestures I can’t figure out how they are communicating? / Clint didn’t believe Tony’s ‘creepy telepathy theory’ but he also knew he was missing something about their interactions. /No if Rogers had telepathy, why didn’t he try to communicate with Barnes? Surely James would’ve been, at the very least, able to hear what his supposed friend was saying even if he couldn’t respond in kind. /

When morning rolled around Clint was no closer to solving the mystery than he was after going over the surveillance footage for hours on end instead of sleeping. To say the archer was tired was a huge understatement. He decided to grab a quick breakfast, hopefully without having to interact with anyone before catching a little bit of sleep. The food and shuteye should keep him from snapping at the others when he interacted with them and it would help him focus when he went to talk to Loki and Rogers. 

Jarvis informed him that the others were not up yet; the sun was barely coming over the horizon, which gave Clint enough time to make a few sandwiches, grab some chips and water, and make his way back to his room. He was thankful that he was able to sneak in and out of the kitchen without the others knowing, as he wasn’t quite ready to talk with them yet. Even his conversation with Tony the previous evening had him on edge. The food and sleep situation would be taken care of with hopefully enough time in between for Thor to get Sif out of the Tower, as Tony thought he would try to do. Then Clint would talk to Loki- hopefully without getting violent and try to make some headway into these mysteries.

By mid morning Clint was up and ready to face the world, or at least Loki. Thor had indeed gotten Sif to go out and help with the clean up again, though from what Jarvis hinted at it had taken a little bit of effort and a lot of arguing before she agreed to go. Bruce had brought breakfast up to Loki and Steve; while Tony had grabbed one of his green monstrosities, he called food, before heading back to his lab- hopefully to pass out for a few hours of sleep.

The archer took the elevator up to Loki and Steve’s floor, before knocking on the door, waiting a beat then pulling it open. He had his bow in hand- just as a precaution to help sooth his paranoia, and an arrow ready to be drawn. Jarvis had not frowned at the precaution, but he hadn’t argued against it either, so Clint wasn’t too worried about upsetting Tony or Bruce.

For their part, Loki and Steve seemed to be sitting in the same spot they usually inhabited- Rogers was drawing away in that pad of his that James had bought him, while Loki did something with the Starkpad. Neither of them seemed nervous or tense as he stepped through the door, and Clint wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

“Ah, Mr. Barton,” said Loki, barely glancing up at the archer, “welcome to the land of misfit toys.”

Clint saw the eye roll that Rogers gave to Loki’s comment before nodding at him as well. Although, instead of going back to his drawing the first Captain put the pad away and moved to slowly stand. His right hand began tapping away on his leg and he slowly started to make his way over in front of Clint. 

The sniper tensed as Rogers got closer, but didn’t pull the arrow he had ready, wanting to see what the Captain’s play would be. Rogers seemed to be moving slower than he had at the beginning of the week, and Clint wondered if that was for his benefit or if something else was going on. Rogers stopped barely a foot away from Clint, who fought the urge to take a step back, knowing the Captain’s track recorder with Shield personnel and not sure if he was considered an Avenger or Shield lackey. 

The Captain didn’t seem to notice Clint’s struggle as he made eye contact and tilted his head while frowning sadly at Clint. Steve then moved the hand that he was tapping against his leg up to his own eyes before tapping his temple twice and lowering the hand again.

Loki spoke up from behind Steve, “Steven would like to apologize for the mind control. He’s sorry, but it was a necessity that one of you was under the scepter’s power.”

“If that’s the case, then ‘Steven’ can go ahead and use his own words to say that.” Came Clint’s snappy reply. That earned an eye roll from Steve, this time directed at him, before turning around and reaching towards Loki- presumably so he would hand over the Starpad. Clint however, grabbed his arrow and notched it, not wanting to take any chances. Loki just put the Starpad on the ground in front of his feet and used them to kick the device over to Steve. Rogers slowly moved to pick it up, all the while seemingly unconcerned with the arrow Clint was pointing at him, before opening the typing program. 

The Captain gave him an unimpressed look that said, ‘really?’ before hitting the talk button, “I’m sorry that you had to go through being under the scepter’s control, but Loki is right- it was a necessity that one of you was also under the scepter’s power.”

“Steven,” Loki said in a warning tone, giving Clint a chance to process exactly what Rogers had said. The pair shared that ‘creepy telepathy’ thing that Tony was talking about as they stared each other down. The hand Rogers was using to hold the Starpad was rapidly tapping away at the underside of it. They were making subtle facial expressions at each other as well, seemingly well versed in conversing without words. It almost reminded Clint of how Nat and James would share looks when James was first brought in. If nothing else Clint realized that the pair had a history together. There was no other way for them to be conversing otherwise.

Then Rogers’ words sunk in and the memory of what happened in Central Park came flooding into Clint’s mind. Specifically, the part right before the pair disappeared. Steve had touched Loki in the temple, just like he had a moment before. /No way… /

Realization seemed to flood through Clint, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to believe the conclusions he was drawing. He filed away the thought and all the implications of what it would mean for another time. When he wasn’t in the middle of an interega- conversation with people he wasn’t sure he could trust.

Steve and Loki seemed to come to a stalemate over whatever they were silently arguing about when Steve abruptly turned back towards Clint and began typing again, completely changing the subject. “I’m glad that your friend Phil is going to make a full recovery. Loki is too, even if he won’t admit it.”

Said Asgardian was glaring daggering into Steve’s back when he heard that response but didn’t deny his words. The original Captain either didn’t notice the glare or didn’t care. Clint suspected it was the latter, but he was also suspicious as to **_how_** Rogers knew that information. Clint’s narrowed eyes and further tensing seemed to make his point, as Rogers typed something else into the pad quickly and hit the talk button, “You wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t on the mend.”

And while that did answer Clint’s non-verbal question, the archer knew it wasn’t the full answer. He debated trying to get said full answer now, but then thought better of it. He had spent less than ten minutes with the pair, and he was already overwhelmed with all the information he’d gathered. “Right,” said Clint with a tone that clearly said he knew Rogers was hiding something, “well then. I’m going to head back to my room for a bit. It was very informative talking with you both this morning.” 

Steve nodded at Clint, before turning around and slowly making his way back to his original spot on the wall. He laid the Starpad on the ground near Loki as he sat, but the God didn’t move to pick it up again, staring instead at the wall over the bed. Clint un-notched his bow, before putting the arrow back in his quiver and deliberately turning around to face away from the pair as he left the room. 

Later, when reviewing the surveillance footage Clint would see that neither one of them seemed to notice or care that Clint deliberately turned his back on them to leave the room. He added the behavior to everything else he had gathered in that quick meeting while also trying to figure out some of the missing pieces to this odd puzzle.

After an hour of strategizing and processing Clint had a sudden thought to have Jarvis pull up the feed from the room holding Loki’s illusion. He fast-forwarded through the footage until there was a good shot of its face. Clint froze the picture and had Jarvis zoom in closer so the archer could look it over. He cursed in disbelief when he found what he was looking for. “Son of a bitch!”

Loki’s illusion had green eyes. Not the pale blue color so similar to his own when Loki touched him with the scepter’s power.

888888888888

Clint debated whether or not he wanted to have lunch with the others, who he knew would be eating on the guest floor. He smirked when an idea popped into his head, and he moved to put the plan in motion, finding the closest air vent and making his way into it. The archer asked Jarvis not to give away his position, as he wanted to monitor the group's interactions in real time without them knowing he was there. It would also give him more time to watch Rogers and Loki. There was something definitely going on there, but he still couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

Lunch for the group was a quiet affair. Or as quiet as anything involving Tony Stark can be. Bruce was trying to get Steve to agree to some kind of medical treatment, while also pushing a ton of weird smoothie drinks at him, while Tony was trying to get Loki to answer questions about the magic he was using on the illusion. Neither one of the “guests” seemed eager to agree to or answer questions regarding the topics of conversation, both sitting quietly and working their way through their meals.

At one-point Clint thought his position in the ducks had been made, when Steve looked straight at him, even through the vent cover before glancing away again. Clint chalked it up to a coincidence though, because the former captain seemed to be glancing at a bunch of random points in the room for varying lengths of time. Almost like other people were in the room with them, when that was clearly not the case. /Maybe he IS just THAT crazy… / thought Clint as he made his way back to his room after lunch. It wouldn’t be the first time that prolonged torture would’ve had a lasting negative affect on a person.

Clint spent the rest of the afternoon and evening analyzing more of the tapes again and talking with Thor and his Lady friend when they came back in the evening for dinner. 

“Ah, Shield Brother Clint! Welcome! How is the Son of Coul?” Said Thor as he came into the dinning room, Sif trailing behind him.

“He is almost back to top form. He will need some physical therapy before getting back into the field, but that shouldn’t be too much for him to handle.” Said Clint, as he finished stirring the pot of sauce he had made for dinner.

“That is glorious news! Isn’t it Sif? You remember the Son of Coul from our time in New Mexico, yes?” Thor was beaming as he spoke, happy to hear that Phil was awake and coherent. 

Lady Sif gave a halfhearted nod, before sitting down at the table, clearly still upset with Thor over the matter of bringing Loki back to Asgard. Clint debated about bringing up Loki while Sif was in the room, not sure how she would react to his questions, although from what he had seen so far, he could make a pretty reasonable guess.

Before he could make a final decision, Bruce and Tony came into the room, the former holding a Starpad and not looking happy about whatever it was he was reviewing. 

“I’m telling you B-Bear! You need to let Hulk come out and take that tour of the tower! It would be really rude of you to not give him that opportunity. It will be like a team building exercise! And he can’t do any MORE damage to anything- I mean you did see the mess in the Penthouse right?” Tony paused only long enough to make a drink at the bar and sit at the table, nodding towards Thor and Sif and Clint as he brought the food to the table.

“Maybe another time Tony,” Bruce said distractedly, “I’m not sure I want him adding to the damage he’s already done to the tower.” The doctor barely touched his food, still too distracted by whatever was on his Starkpad as the others started eating around him.

“Doctor Banner,” said Thor, “what has you so troubled that you can’t partake in this feast our Shield Brother has created?”

“…The results of the scans Jarvis has been doing for my project are a little concerning,” He glanced up at the others briefly before looking back down, “I’m not sure how worried to be at this point, but if the results continue to degrade then it will become a very big problem very soon.”

Thor looked concerned, “Is there anything we might do to assist your project in achieving more promising results?”

“You could whisper sweet nothings until it decides to cooperate?” Said Tony offhandedly, partially making a joke about it in an attempt to lighten the mood in the room.

Bruce snorted in amusement, and Clint rolled his eyes at Stark’s comment.

Eventually the men were able to get Sif to join into a conversation about battles, or missions in Clint’s case, in an attempt to get her to feel more welcome. Tony excused himself first, with a call from Pepper, while Bruce was called away for more tests (and a dinner run upstairs for Steve and Loki), while Thor and Clint talked Sif into watching a movie- something along the lines of Wonder woman or Xena. And while the movie did work, Sif did insist on checking in on Loki that night before heading to bed. Thankfully this visit didn’t end in a yelling match, or Sif storming out of the room in a fit of rage, though she was still angry about the whole situation.

Clint fielded a call from Phil and did a check in with Natasha before calling it a night. He did spend a little more time re-reviewing some of the footage, still no closer in figuring out how the pair was communicating.

As Clint awoke the next morning, he was getting frustrated at his inability to put together the missing pieces to this Loki and Steve puzzle. He thought another interaction with the pair might be in order, but he wasn’t sure which way would be best. /Should I observe from afar? Or should I talk in person…./

As Clint went down to get a quick breakfast, he came to the decision to watch from afar. That was the best way to get information for the archer, and distance would help keep him rational.

Sif and Thor were arguing- at not quite yelling decimals, but it was close as Clint came onto the common floor. He thought he might be able to sneak away without getting caught in the middle of the argument, when Thor noticed him and pulled him into the kitchen. /So much for a clean get-away…/ Clint thought ruefully.

“Shield Brother, welcome. I was just trying to explain to the Lady Sif about the scepter and of its control over all who get touched by it. Indeed, you were also caught in it’s magic, so perhaps you could aid me in my explanations.” Thor not so subtly steered Clint to the table where Sif was already seated and glaring in his general direction. 

“…Sure. I’ll do what I can.” Said Clint as he sat down and smiled towards Sif.

Sif seemed to be eying him like he was a commoner, which in her mind he probably was. “What would it help your argument to bring in this human, Thor? Surely this is just a sad attempt to sway me to your view of things.”

Clint felt his smile fall away and his eyes go hard. “I’m not sure I understand your point, Lady Sif.”

“You are a lesser species,” started Sif haughtily, “any points you have on the matter would be trivial at best.”

Thor spoke up before Clint could say anything, “Lady Sif, my Shield Brother Clint is a formable warrior, who was not only able to help in the fight against the Chitaru but did so right after fighting off the hold of the scepter had on him. He has proven to be of strong mind and will and would be a match for any Asgardian warrior.”

The glare from Sif softened slightly at Thor’s words, “So tell me human warrior, how did you manage to fight off the magic holding you prisoner?”

“A swift knock to the head and a strong will to get free were the main factors. Having friends and teammates still willing to work with me after everything I did while under the scepter’s power was another.” Said Clint in a hard tone.

“Indeed,” said Sif. But before she could ask another question, Clint beat her to it, “What color are my eyes right now?”

Sif’s and Thor’s own eyes shot to their foreheads in confusion, before Sif answered, “dark blue.”

Thor’s eyes darkened in recognition as Clint spoke, “when I was under the Scepter’s magical hold, Thor- what color were my eyes?”

“Pale blue. The color of the magic the scepter contained.” The God of Thunder suddenly started racking his brain trying to remember if he knew what color Loki’s eyes were naturally. The trickster God loved to change their colors, but always went back to the original when he was too tired to hold the illusion, especially when they were children… But he couldn’t remember.

/Warriors do not trouble themselves with such girlish observations, / Thor thought as a way to console his heart against more pain in how he had failed Loki. 

“If you aren’t sure of the validity of Loki’s claim, perhaps you should ask yourself what color his eyes are naturally. You’ll find the answers you are seeking then.” Said Clint as he got up from the table. All thoughts of food were gone from his mind. He grabbed some fruit on his way out of the room but that was all.

Sif’s retort fell on deaf ears as he walked away, “He is the God of LIES, and often uses trickery to change his appearance. I question the validity of your argument archer.” Thor’s response was drowned out as the elevator doors closed. 

“Where to sir?” Asked Jarvis lightly, sensing the tension in Clint’s frame. “My floor please, Jarvis. I have some recon I need to do.”

“Sir,” said Jarvis before Clint exited the elevator, “Mr. Rogers has been leaving members of the team drawings he has been working on the past few days.”

Jarvis’ cryptic statement had Clint slightly confused as he went to the access point for the air vents.

However, that confusion died away as Clint made his way to his previous spot from the day before in the vents above Steve and Loki’s room. A small folded piece of paper was settled in the vent right where Clint’s head was yesterday. Clint decided on opening it later, not wanting to draw attention to his position.

However, neither of the room’s occupants seemed to realize he was there, as they were having an argument of their own.

“-don’t understand why you won’t let the doctor assist you Steven.” The glare the original Captain was shooting his escapee companion was intense. Both of his hands seemed to be tapping a mile a minute, almost too fast to see.

Loki shook his head, “I understand that part more than anyone, believe me. But you are getting worse. What they currently are doing is not helping you heal-”

Steve’s hands suddenly froze, and he hunched forward a little seemingly in a lot of pain. Loki’s own hands shot out to steady his friend, even with their seated position. The God of Mischief also stopped mid sentence because of his concern.

“Steven, this is killing you. You need more help.” Loki whispered in as close to a pleading voice as he normally got. Steve’s head shook frantically for a moment while it rested against his pulled-up knees. Loki put one hand on his back, moving in slow circles as a way to help ease whatever pain Steve seemed to be in. 

“I don’t care if Sif will be there trying to get at me. Your health is more important to me than her petty threats,” said Loki so quietly, Clint had to read his lips to follow what he said.

“Sirs,” interrupted Jarvis, “Dr. Banner is on his way up with his medical bag and other supplies. He has been monitoring Captain Roger’s condition through scans and is concerned about this spike.”

At Jarvis’ announcement Steve seemed to transform. Indeed, if Clint hadn’t been watching him so intently, he would’ve missed the whole thing and questioned the statements of Dr. Banner concerning Roger’s health decline. The Captain took a deep breath and held it a moment. As he exhaled, he seemed to push all of his pain away from his features, moving from his curled position into something similar to how he normally sat. His hands came back to the floor, only one- the one closest to Loki- moved in agitated motions.

Loki drew his lips into a fine line, pulling away from Steve, even though his eyes were still very troubled.

Clint suddenly came to a few realizations in that moment- Steve had to be James’ original friend. There was no mistaking that defiance and demeanor from the way James spoke about him. He also realized Loki and Steve’s connection seemed to be deeper than the group originally thought. Clint had a whole new level of understanding about how desperate the Chitauri invasion had really been.

As Bruce came running into the room, bag in hand; Clint made his way out of the air vents. The archer was eighty percent sure the trio had no idea he was even in there and planned to keep it that way.

“Jarvis,” said Clint when he was secured in his room, “who put this paper into the air vents?” Said paper was the one he was pulling out of his pocket.

“Captain Rogers did last night, Sir. He knew you wouldn’t open it if you had known Loki had handled it. The Asgardian only used his magic to make sure the Captain was able to get up to and open the vent, then stabilized his position as he placed the note.” Clint relaxed a smidgen at Jarvis’ explanation and unfolded the paper.

However, shock, confusion, and anger seeped into his body when he realized what was on the paper. “-the Fuck!?? How? When?!? Who?!?!?!? That location was supposed to be secure!!!!”

The picture was two separate events that seemed to melt into each other seamlessly. On one side it was Clint, on the Helicarrier with Natasha right after she had knocked him against the railings. Coulson had already been shot at that point, but both Phil and Nat were at his bedside looking on with encouragement while he fought off the mind control, Coulson’s hand on Clint’s forehead like he was trying to help push the scepter’s magic out of his brain. The bed he was laying on in the picture bleed into another bed on the other side of the paper, this time with Phil as it’s occupant- only it was an exact replica of the facility Fury had the agent in, down to the marks on the walls. This time it was he and Nat staring down at Phil, trying to will him to get better with the power of their minds. Under the bed was a strange machine- shaded in with dark hues and the words TAHITI written out in the same handwriting as the first time Clint had seen it. The odd machine was cracked and looked like it was broken- an arrow… one of CLINT’S Circus arrows (from when he was a kid) was sticking out of said cracks.

Clint was completely flabbergasted by the drawing, having a difficult time taking his eyes away from it. He kept scanning it over and over, seeing new details each time. At one point he stopped breathing when he realized that the Phil on the left side of the picture, that was hovering over his bed, was signing their ASL code word for “Trust” with the hand not connected to Clint’s forehead. 

“Sir… Agent Barton, sir!” Jarvis’ voice broke through the haze in his mind and Clint realized he wasn’t really breathing. He inhaled deeply and started coughing when it was a little too deep. “I’m ok Jarvis. No need to call reinforcements.” He choked out as he caught his breath again. Clint carefully refolded the picture and put it in his quiver in a hidden compartment. The Tower suddenly felt too small, so he grabbed his wallet and made for the door to his room.

“Jarvis, I need to go out and clear my head. I’ll be back in a few hours.” Clint didn’t wait for a response, just took off down the stairs, not waiting for the elevator.

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It was well after dark when Clint made his way back into Stark Tower. “Good evening sir,” said Jarvis as Clint made it into the elevator.

Clint nodded towards the ceiling, “was it a quiet day today Jarvis?” 

“Quiet would not be the word I would use sir,” said Jarvis, “after you left for the morning the Lady Sif and Thor also made their way out of the tower. Unfortunately, they ran into a haggard Doctor Banner, who had just finished checking on Captain Rogers and was about to bring the pair something to eat.

“Thor asked what was troubling Doctor Banner, who shared with the pair the news on Captain Roger’s failing health. Thor grew concerned but Doctor Banner doesn’t think there is anything the pair can do to help, other than forcibly drag the Captain to medical to get better treatment, which they both agreed was a bad idea.” Jarvis seemed upset about the events of the day; obviously the Captain and Loki might’ve also won the AI over as well, although Clint wasn’t sure how they had done that.

“Thanks Jarvis. How is the Captain doing?” From what Clint saw that morning, it seemed like the Captain might not make it until Barnes got back, in which case Barnes would be a disaster. For James’ sake, Clint hoped the Captain would hold on for a little while longer. 

“Were you able to get the thinking time you desired today Mr. Barton?” Asked Jarvis as the elevator opened to the common floor. Clint nodded and made his way to the kitchen to make a sandwich. 

“Yeah, spent most of the day up in the trees at Central park- trying to wrap my head around that drawing.” Clint’s tone was lighter than it had been when he left, which was probably a good sign.

“The Captain seems to be very talented,” was Jarvis’ only reply. Clint nodded, not sure what else to add at this point.

Sandwich finished Clint made his way back to the elevators, “Jarvis can you pull up the surveillance footage for today in my room? I have a theory that I need to test.”

“Of course Sir.” 

As Clint made his way into his room, the sandwich remained dusted off his shirt; he found a spot on his favorite perch. “Alright Jarvis, queue it up. Start with one hour before I arrived in the vents.”

In place of answering, Jarvis started the surveillance footage on Loki and Steve’s room like asked. “Can you show an angle where I can see Steve from Loki’s perspective?”

“Based on the camera angles available in the room, that shot is not possible sir.” Said Jarvis.

Clint nodded, “OK, how about focusing in on Steve’s hands.” That Jarvis could do, as he changed the angle of the camera and zoomed it in on Steve’s hands.

At this point Steve was only tapping on hand, the one closest to Loki as was his usual. Clint watched the footage for about five minutes, “Stop here please Jarvis, and rewind back five minutes.”

Jarvis restarted the footage from the same spot, while Clint focused in on Steve’s hands. When the same time stamp of five minutes finished the archer had Jarvis stop the footage and repeat it again. 

“Shall I continue the pattern sir?” Asked Jarvis, accurately guessing what Clint was going to ask next. Clint nodded, this time his hand started moving in the pattern Steve was using against his own leg. It took Clint five more tries before he was able to accurately tap out the pattern against his own leg. /Not Morse code… So what…?/

“Hold on for a second Jarvis.” Said Clint as he moved his hand to the wall. He closed his eyes and tapped out the pattern again, trying to see if he could find something vaguely familiar about it. Nothing struck a chord with the archer. 

“Jarvis, can you run this pattern against all known Morse code combinations? Or other types of tapping codes that might be in use today, or might’ve been used during World War 2?” Clint was frustrated with himself. He knew this tapping was the key; it was just a matter of breaking the code.

“Of course Sir. It doesn’t seem like there are any matches, but I will conduct an in-depth search and share the results when it has been completed.”

“Thanks Jarvis,” said Clint as he reminisced about the picture Steve had left him. When the archer had been sitting in Central Park, he had been trying to put the last two weeks into perspective. None of the pieces to the puzzle that were Steve and Loki made sense- the tapping, the oddity of their companionship, and the unusual nature of their story. 

Even if the Tesseract had been in play- how had it taken Steve and the Red Skull into space? What had happened to the Red Skull? How had Steve survived that insane incident with Thanos that left him unable to talk? How did he and Loki learn to communicate in some way? And how in the hell did he make such an accurate drawing of the Helicarrier AND Phil’s secret hospital location? Especially when Loki hadn’t been present at either place. 

As Clint had sat in the trees, the faint sound of a jackhammer started up in the distance, acting as a sort of drone sound for his thoughts. After a while it felt like the jackhammer was almost matching the tapping from Steve’s hand as Clint reviewed parts of the surveillance video in his mind. It was actually that sound that gave Clint the idea that the tapping was more than just a nervous tick. That it was some kind of Morse code reminiscent of the forties and Cap’s time with the army. With that thought ticking in his brain in time with the sounds of the construction site, Clint was able to push everything else to the side and bring his focus back on figuring out this new mystery. 

If Clint could break the code, then he could just **ask** James’ friend about the picture… and everything else he wanted to know.

Jarvis’ computer beeped, bringing Clint back to the present, “I’m sorry sir, but the tapping does not match any kind of known code in any world databases.”

“…Thanks for checking Jarvis… Can you run an analysis on the tapping to see if we can somehow break the code? Maybe figure out a pattern or the letter combinations?” Clearly Clint would just have to go to the source. Either Loki or Steve would have to tell him… if Clint asked… nicely enough. “Of course sir, but it might take a few hours to decipher.”

“That’s ok, Jarvis, it’s late and I’m gonna get some sleep.” Said Clint, as he got ready for bed. The archer wanted to get a few hours of shuteye before having to deal with Loki or Steve. He had a feeling he was going to need it.

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As the sun came up, different people in the Tower had different agendas set out for the day. Tony was going to be trying to work on his new suit design. After a few days of work, he hadn’t gotten much accomplished, but that probably had to do with the total lack of sleep he’d been getting all week.

Bruce, as part of his care for Steve and Loki, was going to try to get the former to agree to more medical help. If it came down to it, he would drag the Captain to medical himself, hopefully with Loki’s assistance.

Thor was going to try to spend the day at the tower with Sif. The Asgardian warrior was not going to take another day out with the clean up efforts, and it wouldn’t be worth the fight that would take place if he pushed the issue. The prince thought it might be good to get Steve to spend some more time on the penthouse deck. Maybe he could even use the Tesseract to heal some of the wounds as an olive branch for Loki and his forgiveness.

Lady Sif was getting tired of Thor’s attempts to waylay her mission. Thor had discussed using the Tesseract on a man named Steven, and Sif would help, especially if she could get Loki out of that room in some way. 

She just needed a plan. 

Clint was going to spend some time working with Jarvis on the code cipher. Although if the A.I hasn’t cracked it by now, then there was a good chance he would need to speak with Loki about it.

Steve and Loki were content to just sit in their shared room. Steve was fading faster than before; he could feel the serum working overtime and the medical level was out of the question for him. He just hoped he had enough time before Bucky got back to say good-bye. Loki was frustrated with Steve’s refusal to get actual medical help. It wouldn’t solve all of his problems right away, but it would certainly help in the long run. It was just a matter of trying to figure out how to get him there without causing a massive panic attack.

As the afternoon set in, there was an odd tension in the tower that hadn’t been present all week. Clint convinced Thor to take Steve out to the penthouse deck for the afternoon, so he could speak with Loki to get a start on learning Steve’s code. 

Thor, who didn’t need much persuasion on the subject, went to Loki and Steve’s room with Clint, “Steven, I would love to have you accompany myself and the Lady Sif for the afternoon on the Man of Iron’s balcony.”

Steve narrowed his eyes slightly at the pair but shrugged and used the wall to slowly stand from his position on the floor, grabbing the Starkpad from Loki on his way to the door. No one mentioned anything about how slowly Steve was moving, but it did solidify the thought Thor had on using the Tesseract to help Steve heal his many injuries. 

When the door closed behind Thor, Clint and Loki finally locked eyes, the latter knowing there was a reason the archer was still standing there, and slightly wary as he didn’t know why. At least this time, the archer wasn’t visibly armed for the visit.

Clint, for his part, stayed staring at Loki until he heard the elevator beep and close. Then he moved to a chair facing the God of Lies, gesturing after a moment to the other chair as an indication Loki should sit with him. Loki hesitated for half a second, before sighing and moving off the floor. He didn’t have the same aversion to the furniture that Steve did, but it was hard to tolerate it for extended periods of time.

“I know the tapping thing Steve does isn’t a nervous tick,” Clint wasn’t one to beat around the bush, although he did wait for Loki to start to sit back in the chair before springing the comment on him.

As it wasn’t a question, Loki toyed with the idea of messing with the archer across from him, before deciding that it would be better if someone else knew how to communicate with Steve. 

It had nothing to do with the guilt he was studiously ignoring.

Loki nodded his head in the affirmative, letting Barton take the lead in the conversation. Clint narrowed his eyes slightly, not expecting that answer from the God of Lies.

“It’s also not any kind of Earth based code from the forties on from what Jarvis and I have been able to deduce.” Clint barely had a moment pass before Loki was answering his not-question.

Again, Loki nodded before adding, “it is based on your alphabet system, but is also filled with the language nuances and code phrases from Steve’s time period that he and his team used during the war. And lots of short-hand.”

“How were you able to figure it out?” 

“My ability of All Speak helped after I figured out the letter combinations. However we had nothing but time to practice when-“ Loki cut himself off suddenly, seemingly remembering something from his imprisonment, not wishing to voice the thought.

Clint, as he had Loki actually cooperating, didn’t ask him to elaborate. /He probably means between torture sessions./

“I want to learn. And I feel like I can do that faster with you teaching me rather than Steve.” Said Clint. He was unwavering in his resolve, he needed to know what James’ friend was saying with his hands. The need was somewhere between professional need to know, and curiosity.

Loki nodded, pulling himself out of the memory, and placing his hand on the arm of the chair. “I will do my best to teach you. Let’s start with the vowels and simple codes.”

The pair only stopped the session, well into the afternoon, when the ear-piercing screams started coming from the direction of the Penthouse. 

The pair both jumped up and went to get into the stairs, Clint pulling out a knife and gun from his person and meeting Bruce who was running up from a few floors below them.

“Elevator’s out,” was all Bruce huffed out, as they raced up to see what was happening.

Hopefully Thor and Sif were enough to take care of the threat- whatever it was.

Tony was in the Suit, taking the window approach from the lab to get to the Penthouse.

#### -End Chapter 12-


	13. Chapter 13: Chaos, Confusion, AIM... and Fire!

Steve was walking extremely slowly on the trek up to Tony’s penthouse balcony, but Thor didn’t seem to mind the pace. Sif seemed irritated, but since Steve had been ignoring her while she was here, it was hard to tell whether or not that was her normal face.

When the trio made it to the balcony, Steve went straight for the middle, completely surrounded by sunlight and sat with eyes closed and his head tilted towards the sun. He had the StarkPad but seemed to forget it was in his hand.

Sif and Thor seemed to be having a silent argument, but Steve was seemingly unaware of the drama happening behind him. The God of Thunder seemed content to lean on the wall, and let Steve enjoy the sun. Sif, after a while went to sit on a lounge chair and ignore the human with them for the time being. 

It was well into the afternoon when Thor decided to go through with his plan to help Steve via the Tesseract. Steve hadn’t moved much from his seated position on the balcony, and Sif had switched between the penthouse room itself, and the balcony lounger. She seemed troubled with the lack of _doing,_ but Thor wasn’t concerned with her behavior. Sif had always been an active member of their group, always moving, even if just a little. 

Thor locked eyes with Sif and nodded towards the elevator. She seemed to understand his intent and nodded for him to go.

When Thor had been gone for a few minutes Sif moved towards Steve, “Come Steven, it is time for us to start heading back inside, to share food with the others.”

Steve blinked at her looming form and narrowed his eyes slightly, before looking around for Thor, who he hadn’t realized had left the balcony. Steve’s eyes moved around the balcony in another sweep, seemingly stopping at random intervals, before he started to push himself up.

Sif didn’t offer assistance, and Steve didn’t seem inclined to ask her for it.

By the time Steve was about halfway through the penthouse, Thor came out of the elevator, holding the Tesseract in the special containment box. When Steve realized what he was holding, a look of pure fear and betrayal overtook his face.

He tried backing away, but Sif came up behind him, not quite holding him in place. 

“Do not worry, friend Steven, I only wish to help fix a mistake that shouldn’t have transpired in the first place.” Said Thor, as he lifted, clicked the container, activating the Tesseract’s power.

A beam shot right at Steve, who was too weak to completely dodge the light.

At first, nothing seemed to be happening, and then lightning exploded out from Steve’s body- hitting the room around them at random intervals. 

Steve’s body was also starting to transform. After about a minute, he started screaming- the pain from the transformation so much like when Doctor Erksine and Howard Stark injected him with the serum all those years ago. 

The whole process took less than five minutes. By the time the others arrived- Tony through the balcony window, and Bruce, Clint and Loki from the stairwell- Thor had finished healing Steve with the Cube. He lowered the containment case right as everyone burst into the room.

Sif wasted no time in maneuvering around Steve, who was curled on the floor shaking and breathing hard- but seemingly in perfect health.

Bruce, Clint, and Loki all moved towards Steve, while Tony put up his repulsors and aimed at Thor and Sif, “Back up there Point Break. What the HELL was that?”

Thor stepped back from Steve and a little closer toward Tony at the balcony. “I wished to help the Captain’s friend before he returned. I knew he was in trouble and didn’t wish to go to medical for assistance. The Cube was able to reverse the damage inflicted on his body.”

As he was speaking Bruce was trying to get Steve to uncurl a little to check him over. In the ensuing panic from the trio, Sif was able to latch onto Loki’s arm, the God was focusing less on his magic and more on Steve when he realized it was his friend who had been screaming. The way Bruce and Clint were standing also helped Sif narrow down where Loki was standing. 

“Steve! Hey, come on, I need to check you over.” Bruce was attempting to get the super soldier to uncurl from the floor, with little success. Apparently, the Cube had reversed all the damage and brought him back to peak physical condition… and strength.

Sif pulled Loki over to where Thor was standing with Tony, who was realizing that Jarvis was suddenly not responding, and started focusing on his suit- not what was happening around him. She grabbed the other end of the Cube’s container and used that to manhandle the other two gods out to the balcony. Before anyone even realized what was happening, she was twisting the container a second time and the trio of Gods were being pulled through space back to Asgard.

Clint took everything in that was happening, from Bruce’s panic/anger, to Tony’s growing confusion with Jarvis, to the Asgardians abrupt departure, to Steve who was still shaking, breathing erratically, and curled up on the floor trying to make himself into a smaller target, clearly not aware of where he was or who he was with.

Clint decided to deal with the problem that was easiest to fix at this point. He put a hand on Bruce’s arm; shaking his head at the doctor when he had his attention, “let me try something. I don’t think he’s here with us right now.”

Bruce moved back some, and let Clint take his spot next to Steve’s curled up form. Clint hesitated a moment before taking his hand and covering Steve’s arm. He started to carefully tap out the word S-A-F-E to the super soldier, using his own tapping pattern. The archer repeated the word until Steve’s shaking subsided and his breathing was back under control.

Bruce suddenly inhaled sharply when he realized what Clint was doing. “It wasn’t a nervous tick.”

Clint shook his head in agreement with what Bruce said, “it’s how he was communicating with Loki.”

Steve seemed to slowly realize what Clint was saying through the tapping on his arm. With that realization brought on an understanding of where he was and whom he was with. He slowly started to un-tense his body, blinking his eyes open and uncurling from his spot on the floor.

Bruce noticed the pain was gone from his movement and face, but his one eye was still blood red. /Strange that the Tesseract wasn’t able to fix that also…/ the doctor thought, as he watched Steve look around and stand up.

The super soldier’s eyes held amusement as he watched Tony attempt to get out of the suit without Jarvis’ assistance, his lips twitching up at the corners. Although, his eyes still seemed to be roaming around the room, that much hadn’t changed.

For whatever reason, the AI was still offline. Stark was able to get the helmet off, but the body’s removal mechanism seemed to be stuck. 

Out of nowhere the elevator chimed and Pepper walked out, holding a drink and talking a mile a minute to the inventor, her cell phone in her other hand. “Tony, honestly, what is going on up here? The elevator was frozen for the last ten minutes, and I was in the middle of an important phone meeting with the board, over the mess that was the alien invasion!”

Jarvis was rebooting his system and helping Tony with the suite. Pepper walked towards Tony and was holding the drink out to the inventor. However, before she could get closer to her boyfriend, Steve was between them, pushing the drink out of her hand and twisting her neck with a sharp snap. His eyes were dark with anger; his mouth set in determination and resolve unwavering.

The room was completely frozen for a moment as everyone realized what Steve had just done. 

A snarl from Tony was the only warning Steve had before he was being grabbed and smashed against the wall. Tony was holding him against the wall with one hand, a repulsor ready to blast his face with the other. 

Steve was grappling with Tony, mostly to not get murder by his friend’s son before he could explain the situation.

“Woah! Tony, wait, stop!” Bruce was also trying to get Tony off the super soldier, without actually Hulking out and making it worse. Steve was tapping his hand that he was using to stop Tony from choking him to death again, in the Ironman suit. Clint saw the motion and narrowed his eyes, turning to Pepper’s body then back to Steve. 

Right when Clint realized what Steve was trying to say, Bucky and the man from Steve’s picture- Sam Wilson, dropped onto the balcony and raced into the room.

“Stark! What the FUCK are you doing!?” Bucky went up to Tony and joined Bruce in keeping Steve from being choked to death. 

“Bruce, what the hell is goin’ on in here?!” Bucky grunted while trying to get Ironman to release his friend, while also noting Pepper’s dead body on the floor a few feet behind them.

Sam stood back a bit, not sure what exactly was happening but concerned and wanting to help in some way.

Clint quickly made his way over to Pepper’s body, and the glass on the floor. He picked up the glass, sniffing carefully, before realization hit. He put the glass down quickly and started moving his hands over her head and shoulders. He seemed to find something, when there was a click and Pepper’s face shimmered and disappeared, turning into a dark-haired woman.

“Tony! Stark! It wasn’t Pepper!!” Clint joined Bruce and Bucky in holding Tony back from Steve. The archer turned Tony’s head towards where ‘Pepper’ had fallen. It took Tony a moment to realize what he was seeing. He blinked, before suddenly letting go of Steve, looking at the body on the floor with horror. Shock seemed to be setting in for the billionaire as he stumbled back, grabbed his helmet and took off from the room without a word, running to the balcony with heavy steps. When he had his helmet on, he fired up the suit and took off, no doubt on his way to Malibu to check on the real Pepper.

Steve, who was no longer fending off Tony, gasped for breath, before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he passed out. His throat had a darkening handprint from where Tony was choking him; indents had been made where Tony’s hand was crushing it.

“Shit!” Bucky and Bruce caught him before he hit the floor, the pair staggering only a little under the super soldier’s weight. 

“We need to get him to medical,” said Bruce, turning to the elevator. Bucky looked torn between agreeing and arguing because of how much Steve was against the idea of being anywhere near the medical floor when he was awake.

“Barnes,” Bruce growled, which got Bucky moving with him towards the elevator.

Clint was busy with the body, taking a photo and sending it to Fury via his SHIELD phone, then texting something as well. When he looked up, Sam was still standing there, arms crossed and looking not impressed with the situation.

Clint looked him over, before whistling. “Wow. Roger’s drawing was ridiculously accurate.”

Sam narrowed his eyes, “yeah, so I’ve been told. Care to elaborate on that whole ability of his?”

Clint shrugged, “You got one to then.” It wasn’t a question.

By unspoken agreement the pair held up their own folded sheets of paper, neither ready to divulge what their drawing held just yet. A shared understanding passed between them briefly.

“We’re not sure how he’s doing it.” Said Clint as he put his folded paper back in the hidden pocket he took it from, “I’ve only just figured out that his nervous tapping twitch wasn’t actually a nervous twitch at all and a way for him to communicate with Loki.

Sam scanned the room briefly, “Loki. That the guy that went with Barnes to medical, or did he have something to do with the huge blue light we saw as we were flying in?”

“Blue light.” Clint turned to the elevator, “come on, the only way we’re getting answers is by being in medical when sleeping beauty wakes up.”

Sam followed Clint into the elevator, “Clint Barton, by the way.”

“Sam. Sam Wilson,” the pair shook hands as the elevator closed and descended to the medical floor.

“Jarvis,” said Clint as the elevator was closing, “what exactly happened to your systems back there?”

“It appears an organization was briefly able to override my systems. When I regained control, Sir was in the processes of strangling Captain Rogers. I am working with him to double check the security for the Tower, as well as his Malibu estate. Ms. Potts is also attempting to calm him down over the phone, but he appears to be much too agitated at the moment to hear what she is saying.”

The elevator dinged, opening to the sterile smell of a medical facility. The pair could hear Bruce’s voice mumbling as he worked to help the doctors set up Steve’s room.

“Thanks J,” said Clint as the pair made their way down the hall. Clint nodded towards Bruce, “Bruce Banner- aka The Hulk, is the one that’s been trying for days to get Rogers to medical. Clearly unconsciousness was the only way that was going to happen.”

Bucky, hearing Clint and Sam’s arrival muttered, “that’s how it’s always been with this Punk.”

Sam and Clint could both hear the fondness in his voice, under the worry and strain of the day.

“Do we know how long he’s going to be out?” asked Sam, as he mostly processed everything that had happened since he and the New Captain America left the helicopter. 

“It could be anywhere from an hour to a day,” said Bruce, nodding in welcome towards Sam, “the original files I studied didn’t have a lot of information that was consistent between each hospital visit.”

“That’s if he even went to the med tent.” Barnes rolled his eyes and grabbed Steve’s hand- the one not hooked up to the IV. “He’s got at least an hour- maybe more if Bruce is pumping the tranq meds into him via this IV.”

“Well,” said Clint turning to Sam, “let’s get you all settled in a room. If there’s anything you need Jarvis can order it for you. Tony’s orders- everything for the team gets put on his tab while we’re here.”

Sam almost made a comment but restrained himself at the last second. As they moved back toward the elevator, Clint was going on about who was on which floor, and his thoughts on the rooms available on each one.

Bruce and Bucky shared a silent look as the voices became muted and the elevator dinged open. Bruce just grabbed a chair and brought it up to where Bucky was still standing, then went back to adding more fluids to the IV and setting up a second one.

Already the pair could see the color changing back to normal on Steve’s neck. The marks from before being hit with the Tesseract were long gone, and the new one’s from Tony were healing pretty quickly. Bruce was pretty impressed with the healing factor and how well it was working now that Steve’s body wasn’t in survival mode. Bruce also debated taking a blood sample but figured it would be better to get consent when Steve woke up.

With their luck, Steve would wake up in the middle of a blood draw, and that would set him off even more.

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It was only a few hours later when Steve did wake. He had a moment of complete disorientation before he heard the beeping next to him. He panicked, then remembered they made it out and home. Loki had done it. They were free.

Then he had flashes of the blue light of the tesseract in the penthouse of StarkTower and the panic set back in full throttle, especially as he realized what he was smelling and hearing. He was back on Thanos’ ship in the experimental bay. He needed to get out and find a place to hide- NOW.

Bucky heard a slight hiccup of breath- before he felt himself flying through the air and the wall of the medical room Steve was in. /I guess the Punk is awake… / was all he thought before the more pressing matter of the wall ruins pressing down on him took over.

Jarvis sounded an alarm and attempted to speak with Steve to calm him down- but it was no use. His eyes were a little wild as he grabbed the closest thing to a weapon he could find and started making his way through the halls.

The super soldier could hear people speaking to him, but he needed to find a place to hide. Then figure out how he was going to get to Asguard and murder Thor for sending him back to this Hell.

Steve found the door leading to the stairs. He went through, busting the mechanisms behind him so others couldn’t open it. He was then going up- down always got him caught. Down were more soldiers and the engines. Every door he came to on his route he broke so no one could use that as a way to get to him.

He needed to find a safe place to regroup and stay hidden. 

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Bruce heard the crash from down the hall, where he was speaking with a few doctors about Steve’s condition, as well as comparing the data from before to now. By the time he made it into the hall and realized Bucky was crumpled in the ruins of the wall, the door to the stairwell was slamming closed and a crunching sound could be heard.

Bruce ran over to Barnes, who was working on extracting himself from the rubble, groaning about Steve the whole time under his breath, bits in Russian and bits in English. 

“James, are you okay?!” Said Bruce when they got him out of the rubble. Clint and Sam joining them a moment later from the elevator.

“Dude- what the hell was that?!?” Said Clint, as the archer aimed his bow around the hall, checking for threats. After the day they all had, there very well could’ve been anything.

Sam was at his six, also checking over the hall, a handgun at his side but in a ready to shoot kind of way.

“Steve’s up,” said Bucky helpfully. Bruce snorted at the understatement.

“Sirs, if I may,” said Jarvis, “Captain Rogers is currently making his way to the roof from the stairwell. He has been breaking and barricading the doors as he goes. I’ve been attempting to speak with him, but he doesn’t seem to be listening. His vitals are also spiked from adrenalin.”

“Thanks, J,” said Bucky, nodding to the ceiling, “I don’t think we should storm after him. Bruce- remember the rain incident a few days ago? I think we should give him a little space and monitor from a distance. Although, I am very much up for storming after him and dragging his punk-ass back inside- just sayin’.”

Bruce nodded, “I’m definitely going to be staying back. There’s no reason for the Other Guy to make this more horrible than it currently is. But I do think one of you should head up to talk with him. See if you can get him to calm down or even come back inside.”

“I’ll go,” Said both Clint and Bucky at the same time, “No- I’ll go.”

Sam snorted in amusement at the pair of them. “Sirs, Captain Rogers is on the roof and he has found a place to hide amongst the ruins of the STARK Towers Sign. He’s vitals are dropping to normal levels and he appears to be watching the sun set. Although, he is still not responding to my attempts to speak with him.”

“I should go,” said Clint, “I know the basics of that code he’s been using AND jumping all over rooftops is kinda my thing.”

“He listens to me,” said Bucky to counter Clint’s argument, “and I can grab the StarkPad on my way up. Plus, he’s my friend- I’ve known him forever. He’s less likely to try to murder me than you.”

Clint raised an eyebrow and glanced towards the wall ruins. Bucky growled in response.

“You know,” said Bruce, “you COULD just settle this like adults.”

“What,” said Clint, “a first to 5 fight in the gym? That’d take too long.”

“…no…” said Bruce, “Rock-paper-scissor. First to three wins goes up.”

This time Sam had trouble holding in his laughter.

Five minutes later, Clint was smugly using his arrows to make it way over to the “A” at the top of Stark Tower, while Bucky was sulking on the penthouse floor with Sam- even though the super soldier refused to admit that’s what he was doing.

Clint had grabbed the Starkpad as well, just as a precaution. He figured out where Steve was hiding, then silently made his way over to the area. He didn’t sit to close though to give Steve some room. Even with his stealth, Clint was pretty sure Steve knew he was there. Said super soldier let out a huff of air, but his eyes didn’t leave the setting sun. Clint put the Starkpad down between them, but otherwise didn’t do or say anything for a while.

When the sun was almost set, Steve took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He glanced at Clint and the Starkpad, before shrugging and picking it up. 

“Sorry for overreacting downstairs. I didn’t realize where I was and I panicked,” came from said pad a moment later.

Clint shrugged, “We all have our own troubles with medical. James is fine, by the way.”

Steve nodded, “I know.” His shoulders slumped a little while he typed, “I guess this means we need to go back inside.”

Clint narrowed his eyes at the super soldier, turning to look him over more fully. “How do you know that though? I only just told you.”

Steve gave a small secretive smile before tapping the side of his head near his eye- the one that was still blood red around the iris. It was then his turn to shrug.

“Uh-huh,” said Clint, eyes narrowed in thought this time. He added the odd gesture to the ever-growing list of weird shit related to the original super soldier. “I guess you also already know Barnes was successful in his D.C mission and your friend Sam Wilson is also here?”

Steve’s smile got a little wider and mischievous, before he tapped a quick “yes” on the Tower between them. 

“Loki’s no longer here. Thor’s friend Sif grabbed the pair of them and took them back to Asgard when we heard you yelling earlier.” Clint was still watching Steve carefully, so he didn’t miss the super soldier’s eyes darkening and narrowing in anger- and something stronger.

This time Steve tapped a quick, “yes, I know.,” but with more force than was necessary. He glared up at the darkening sky with a growl.

Although, the noise seemed to startle him, because his eyes cleared, and he jumped a hair at the sound. He then touched his throat- realizing the damage was gone- both the original damage and the choking from Stark. “wah?”

The noise was almost a what, but the smile that lit up Steve’s face was lighting up the night sky around the pair.

“You were dying,” said Clint into the growing darkness, “Thor wanted to help, and the only way was apparently the Tesseract. It’s how Sif grabbed Loki- he was worried about you and came to help. I don’t think either of them realized Sif would use that opportunity to take him back.” The archer paused to look at Steve before continuing, “what happened wasn’t your fault- don’t even think it was.”

Steve’s face was the picture of sadness, and his mouth was set in a grim line. He shook his head but didn’t tap anything or type into the Starkpad.

“We should head back inside,” said Clint after he realized Steve wasn’t going to respond, “I think Barnes is about two seconds away from trying to climb the side of the Tower from the penthouse to make sure you are okay.”

Steve snorted in agreement, before handing back the Starkpad. He rolled out of his hiding place in the “A” and made his way to the edge of the Tower. He saluted Clint, when he saw the archer was watching, and jumped over the side.

Clint’s startled, “Shit!!” was echoed by Sam and a totally-not-girly scream from Bucky about 10 seconds later when Steve landed on the penthouse deck and rolled into a standing position practically on top of his friend. He carefully shot an arrow into the roof and scaled his way down the Tower after Steve.

He was met with the sounds of Barnes pacing and yelling at Steve in a few different languages, while said soldier stood with a small smile and an eye roll whenever his friend was looking at him. It seemed to set Barnes off even more- which both Sam and Clint realized was the intended purpose.

The pair shared a look at the super soldier’s antics, before deciding to let it go for the time being and made their way inside.

Hopefully someone had either made or ordered dinner by now.

#### -End Chapter 13-


	14. When things start to make sense…?

## Chapter 14: When things start to make sense…?

Sam was staring at Steve’s door with the look of someone about to go to his execution. 

Barnes fake coughed, but Sam still didn’t move.

There was a pause before, “You know, he only killed/tried to kill the ones SHIELD sent over. You should be fine.”

Sam’s eye twitched, “Am I supposed to be reassured by that??”

James smiled slightly, “no, but he DID ask for you. So, there is that. And if he DOES murder you, I’ll make sure it’s a really nice funeral.”

With that, Sam felt himself shoved into Steve’s room before he could respond, the door shutting firmly behind him. 

“Hey!” Sam was grumbling at the door, but didn’t take his eyes off Steve, who was back to his original spot on the floor with his back to the wall. He was drawing another picture, which Sam was interested in, especially with the weight of HIS present tucked into his pants pocket.

Steve paused with one hand, to touch the StarkPad, eyes glancing up to Sam then back down to his drawing, “You’ll be fine. I promise not to maim you on the first session, though I can’t say the same for session two… or three.”

Said Super Soldier was smiling, so Sam thought he meant it as a joke. “Scouts honor and all that jazz?,” he said as he moved further into the room.

Steve furled his brow before typing out a quick, “never was a boy scout,” with a shrug.

It was Sam’s turn to shrug, as he figured out where he wanted to sit. James had told him which chair had housed the SHIELD agents, so he was going to avoid it at all costs. He finally decided to mirror Steve’s position and sit on the floor with his back to a different chair. Not close enough to grab, and hopefully he could maneuver if needed. “So, I don’t know how you know me. Or Riley, ‘cause the man NEVER even HINTED at a connection to you, and believe me, I KNOW that would’ve been all he ever talked about. You must also know that I don’t even have my counseling license yet, and I haven’t even started classes for my degree.”

Steve nodded along as Sam spoke, “I never met Riley when he was alive. I wasn’t here to do so. And I only just met you yesterday, you are right.”

Sam narrowed his eyes, “then how did you do THIS.??” He pulled the drawing out of his pocket but didn’t unfold it.

Steve shrugged again and gently tapped his temple next to his bloodshot eye, but otherwise didn’t respond.

There was a pause before Steve typed with the Starkpad again, “it’s not your fault you know, what happened with your partner.”

Sam narrowed his eyes at Steve, “Shouldn’t I be the one counseling you here, not the other way around? Trying to make sure you’re not bat-shit or gonna go off killing more people?”

Steve nodded with a slight smile, “yes. But I wanted to make sure you understood that. Besides, I only kill my enemies, it’s a lesson hard learned over the years.”

“The other therapists worked for SHIELD, and they aren’t your enemy,” said Sam in return, not acknowledging what Steve had said about Riley. He needed time to process that later, when he was alone and not trying to help/evaluate the crazy superhero.

“Not all of them.” But Steve wouldn’t elaborate nor specify what he meant. Sam hadn’t been in the room long, but he wasn’t sure where to go from here with the information he had gotten, nor did he feel completely safe yet- not sure the original Captain America had all his marbles in place enough to not stab him with a pencil.

“Well,” said Sam as he started to stand, “I think this was a good getting to know you, intro session. Lots for both of us to think about, and no furniture’s been thrown in my direction, so that’s also a plus. Barnes get in here.” The last bit was spoken a little louder towards the door, where both soldiers were sure James was lurking.

Not three seconds later, James was opening the door and looking over the pair, relief was evident for a moment before it was masked. “Oh, good. I’ll let Fury know you’re a keeper. Everything go okay? Sam? Stevie?”

“Wait Sam,” Steve typed as he also stood up. He folded the drawing he was working on before slowly holding his hand out to Sam, so he could take it. His other hand was held in the surrender position, so the other two would know he wouldn’t do anything.

Sam had an internal debate about whether to take the paper or not, but curiosity finally got the better of him. He reached over and grabbed the paper, before carefully backing up behind Barnes. 

“Thanks man.” He would look it over later when he was alone.

“You guys ready for lunch?” James asked, looking them both over. Steve nodded, but Sam declined, “I think I’m gonna head out for a little while actually, check in with the family and see how they’re doing with everything that went down.”

Sam made his way to the door then the elevator, without turning around to check his back. He was pretty proud of himself for that and excited to see his family for the afternoon. It’d only been a day, but the weird meter was already through the roof and he could tell it was only going to get worse. He faintly heard James and Steve calling each other names, “jerk,” and “punk” as the elevator door was closing, and he gave Jarvis directions to go to the ground floor.

In the relative privacy of the elevator, Sam unfolded the picture and nearly fainted. It was him at the Harlem VA he first visited when he got back stateside. It was the first group session he had gone to, and he was a wreck. Riley was standing at his side- wingless this time, and his grandfather was next to him, both of them had an arm wrapped around his shoulders in support and looked to be talking like they’d known each other forever. Sitting around him were the other soldiers in the session and some faces he remembered from his unit that hadn’t made it back to the states.

Sam couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “What the-?!?”

The elevator dinged on the ground floor, and Jarvis interrupted him mid exclamation, “Sir, we’ve reached the ground floor, shall I have a car brought around?”

“…Nah…” Sam refolded the picture and gently added it to his pocket with the other one, “nah, thanks Jarvis. I’m gonna… I need to take the subway. Gotta think for a bit.”

8888888888888888888

By the time Sam got back to the Tower it was dinner. He made his way to the common floor where Clint, Barnes, and Rogers were sitting around a table. Bruce was in the kitchen, with the smells of Indian food starting to invade Sam’s senses before he even cleared the couch. 

Sam felt much better than when he left the Tower this afternoon. Getting to check in on his family in Harlem and make sure they were doing alright was a huge relief off his shoulders He even took the time to speak with them about D.C., and his work on getting his degree started. On a whim, he asked to look through the old family albums, and sure enough his grandfather looked exactly the same as the new picture from the Super Soldier, only younger than Sam remembered him being.

Sam had a theory about Steve and even though the food Bruce was cooking smelled delicious, he was a man on a mission as he walked into the kitchen. Keeping the picture folded, he ignored Barnes, Barton, and Banner, as he leaned forward towards Steve, making eye contact as he placed his hands on the table for support. 

“You see dead people,” was all he said, which was enough to bring the room to a screeching halt. Steve, still not speaking much, just raised an eyebrow and tapped his temple again, near his bloodshot eye, like he had done before. He glanced around the room, gaining an amused tint to his face, and tapped out a quick pattern that was too fast for Clint or James to catch, before turning back to Sam with a shrug. 

The archer made a mental note to have Jarvis show him the feed later and slow the pattern down.

Sam was pretty sure that Steve wasn’t denying the claim, but it was still a lot to process- even with the head start of thinking about the theory that afternoon.

“What happened Steve,” asked Barnes, voice pretty flat, but eyes flashing darkly.

Steve shrugged again and pulled the StarPad close to type something out. His fingers were flying across the keyboard- something the others weren’t quite prepared for.

“In the mid-90’s there was a period where I was mostly dead. My body was frozen in space outside the ship Thanos was using, while my soul started to move on. I caught the attention of the Queen of the Underworld, Thor’s niece Hela. We made a deal and when my body was brought back into the ship, my soul rejoined it and I was left with this,” he tapped his temple near his bloodshot eye again, “and a new perspective on the world.”

“The tapping,” Steve continued, as he tapped out a quick sequence that Clint recognized as “SAFE,” “was a way for me to communicate with the souls helping me. Some of the old team, and a few new faces that have tagged along. When I’ve completed what I need to, Hela will take back the extra sight.”

James narrowed his eyes in a sudden realization, “When I was on ice…”

Steve smirked and quickly typed out, “I was able to try to communicate with you, yes. It took a few tries, but finally the message penetrated through your stick skull.”

James cursed in Russian, and got up from the table. He ignored all attempts to get his attention and in the elevator asked Jarvis to send him to the gym. He needed to think.

“Well,” said Bruce, “that all sounds pretty… horrible.” The quip got the expected response of snorts, and eye rolls from the others, “and dinner is ready.”

Jarvis spoke up before anyone could say anything, “I’ve already let Captain Barnes know about dinner. He will be up later when he has had time to process everything.”

Steve was still a bit hesitant around the group, and eating solid food, so dinner was a pretty subdued affair.

After dinner Clint came to his own realization, “So wait, when you froze us before freeing Loki- was Phil one of the Souls you were able to communicate with?”

Steve gave a partial shrug before typing out, “Yes, and no. He wasn’t actually dead, so while his soul was able to leave his body- he couldn’t go too far away from it. When you were in the med bay after Natasha knocked you out, he was with you in the room, but couldn’t really go further than that. He was able to share the knowledge for your drawing with the others, and I was able to give it to you.”

“What do you mean he wasn’t actually dead?” Said Clint slowly with a dark tone.

“Loki cast a stasis spell on his body keeping it alive before leaving the Helicarrier. He wasn’t able to do much to circumvent the Scepter’s control, but what he could do- he did.”

Having a hunch that Loki wasn’t as bad as they all originally thought, and knowing more concrete information was a lot for them all to take in at once. Steve sensed the sombre mood and excused himself to go back to his room. He knew Bucky would be back from the gym soon, and after he showered/ate, his friend would seek him out. 

Steve was patient enough to wait for him. He had given them a lot of information that they had to digest and work through. It would give him more time to formulate his own plans and continue his drawing.

It was pretty late before Bucky came into Steve’s room and sat next to him on the wall. Steve put aside his sketchbook and grabbed the Starkpad, not sure how much talking he would need or be able to do.

“You saved me,” was all Bucky said as he slid down the wall.

“Had to make up for not saving you on the train,” was Steve’s response. Even typed, Bucky could hear the guilt, sadness, and other negative emotions in that one sentence.

“Stevie,” Bucky pulled his friend into a careful side hug with his flesh arm, “that wasn’t your fault.”

Steve just shook his head and put his own arm around Bucky. The pair sat in silence for a while, just enjoying being close again.

88888888888888

In his own room, Clint was watching the footage from dinner, when Steve was tapping out the pattern and Sam made the 90’s movie reference at him. Jarvis had slowed it down enough for Clint to figure out the pattern.

“Riley was correct that Sam would be the one to figure it out. I can’t believe he even called the movie reference. Looks like Gabe owes him one.”

“Huh,” said the archer sitting back in his desk chair, a little surprised that Steve knew that movie, or at least someone from his spirit team did. /I wonder if he means Gabe Jones from his original team./ 

Clint knew Gabe’s grandson was working with Shield as well. He didn’t know what he was doing, just that he was recruited a few years back. Clint made a mental note to check on Trip, Antoine Triplett, to be exact.

“What’s the status Jarvis?” Asked Clint to the A.I. 

“Dr. Banner is currently meditating in his room, Captains Rogers and Barnes are in Captain Roger’s room talking, and Mr. Wilson is in the gym. Sir has also checked in from his Malibu house finally. It appears Ms. Potts is safe and unharmed.” Said the A.I.

Clint nodded and started to make his way to the gym. He could use some hand to hand practice, and it would be a good way to assess the new guy’s skills. He also made a mental note to check on Natasha. She hadn’t checked in since leaving and, while that wasn’t unusual, Clint had a bad feeling about what she was looking into.

#### Shield Headquarters

Phil was excited. He was going to be leading a team of recruits that he could hand pick. As far as most of Shield knew, he was dead. And, technically he was dead. Mostly. 

Getting to work with the souls of the Howling Commandos though. That was worth every mostly dead second. The memories faded, but the feeling and emotions were engraved into his very being. He knew they were working with the original Captain America, even though he hadn’t gotten to meet him. And he knew their mission had to do with Shield- but what exactly that was, was the most hazy. His team would play a part in whatever it was. But until he could remember, it was up to him to get them ready.

Starting with his first recruit, Melinda May. /Focus. You have a job to do./

He knocked on the door to the gym as a courtesy, a smile on his face. He was pretty sure May already knew he was there, but manners were still important. She would love this job- if he could convince her that is.

#### Asgard

Loki stumbled when the tesseract’s power finally subsided. He could feed the eyes of the guards staring at him and Thor at his side, while Lady Sif tightened her hold on his arm. 

Thor moved to his other side, and the guards looked ready to stop him, but the look he threw their way had them stepping back instead. Loki didn’t speak as he was led towards the main throne room, where his judgement would be passed. He knew there was nothing he could say that would help his situation, and while he had spoken to Thor some at the Tower, he was still hesitant to believe his brother would continue to stick up for him here. 

Thor was comfortable here, and sometimes that was a bad thing. It enabled him to fall into old habits. And, as the Earth saying went, Old Habits Die Hard.

So no. Loki was not hopeful right now. He knew better. 

The throne room doors were pushed open by the guards stationed there and Loki could see his “parents” sitting on their high chairs. While Loki held no judgement on his mother, he knew she loved him unconditionally, it was Odin he had to worry about. 

Loki was prepared for the worst, his pictures from Steven carefully hidden away on his person. He knew his friend would be okay. And at the very least, he was glad he was able to be the hero for someone.

Even if that would never be recognized here.

“Father,” bellowed Thor in a very forceful tone, “we must speak at once about what has happened on Earth. Please remove everyone from the room, including the council. What I have to say is for you and mother’s ears alone.”

Odin must’ve realized the seriousness behind Thor’s words, or he had knowledge from Heimdall that no one else did. With a nod from the King, the council members and guards started murmuring in discontent as they left the room. Lady Sif looked like she was going to stay, but a firm hand from Thor had her also leaving the room.

Loki kept his eyes centered right above Odin’s forehead. While he wasn’t muzzled, he had nothing to say in either his defense or otherwise as he knew it would fall on deaf ears. He was tempted to look towards his mother, but knew it would break him if he saw the disappointment on her features he **knew** was there.

As the throne room’s doors closed, the silence became deafening for Loki. Thor must’ve also felt it because he spoke up before Odin could even breathe in air to speak.

“Father, it has come to my attention that Loki was not working for Thanos of his own free will. I do not believe he needs to be punished for the actions he took on Midgard, and any crimes he’s committed here have been paid for in full with his imprisonment at Thanos’ hand.” Thor stood tall and shoulder to shoulder with his brother. Loki kept quiet, knowing what Odin would say before he said it.

“Loki chose to let go of your hand on the BiFrost, instead of facing his punishment here. Whatever happened after that was his own doing and doesn’t affect the ruling that I give on his transgressions here.” Odin’s tone left no room for argument, as he was probably assuming Thor would just follow his rule like he had in the past.

It was too bad Thor felt differently and wasn’t afraid to voice that opinion, “And yet, you let Loki be tortured at the hands of Thanos for years. Never once telling myself or mother of what was happening to him so we might provide a rescue.”

Frigga’s eyes narrowed and she spoke before Odin could confirm or deny the claim, “You knew our son was being tortured and did nothing to help him?”

The anger directed at her husband had Loki flicking his eyes briefly towards his mother. He was not ready to see her defending him like that, and couldn’t quite process what he was hearing.

“Asgard was not in a position to be able to fight Thanos. Anyone sent would’ve been killed- including our other son and Heir.” Odin was attempting to defend his actions, but Frigga looked like she was ready to skin her husband alive and make Thor king right there.

Loki flinched back at Odin’s words, which enraged Frigga even more. “If Loki is to be imprisoned, then he will be on house arrest and confined to his room until further notice. Loki, I will put a shield around your room so you can’t leave, and won’t be forced to be in the magic dampening cuffs. Thor, please escort your brother to his room, and both of you wait for me there. There is much we need to speak about, but I must deal with your father first.”

Thor and Loki both blinked, neither had ever seen Frigga so angry at their father, and overruling him like that. The pair didn’t want to waste this blessing, so they began edging towards the door, with only a small nod of acknowledgement.

When the throne room door closed behind them, the only thing they heard was a very loud, “How Dare You-” before a silencing ward went up around the room. 

Lady Sif was waiting outside the throne room with the guards, all of them looking ready to grab Loki and throw him in a cell. Thor spoke before any of them could even think of moving forward, “Loki is on house arrest, confined to his room for his punishment, for the foreseeable future. If you have an issue with this decree- I suggest you take it up with the Queen, but perhaps wait until she calms down or you might not like what she does.”

With that Thor began escorting Loki down the hall towards his room. Loki was still in shock, so he just let his brother take him wherever he wanted to go.

Much later, when Frigga had calmed down, and could speak with her children she went to Loki’s room. Dinner was ordered and a healer called as well. She wouldn’t let Loki suffer in silence, and was glad Thor was finally being the older brother he should’ve been from the beginning. 

After the trio ate, and Frigga spoke with Thor and Loki together, she excused her flesh and blood son so she could speak with Loki alone. Thor nodded to the pair and made his way out of the room. He was also still mad at Odin, so instead of speaking with his father, went to his room. He needed to think, and while he could do that sparring, he wasn’t ready to speak with others either. They had limited knowledge of what had happened and he wasn’t ready to lose Loki’s trust so soon after trying to earn it by speaking of what happened with his friends.

When the Healer was finished checking over Loki, Frigga excused her. As the door closed with a click, Frigga put up a silencing charm around the room and turned to Loki, waiting patiently for the outburst.

She wasn’t disappointed, but it was more subdued than she thought it would be.

“Why did you fight him about this? I’m a monster to them. Not one of you, and not welcome anywhere.” Loki sounded so defeated it broke Frigga’s heart.

“You are my son, from the moment I held you in my arms as a small baby, and cast the glamour over you to help keep you safe.” Frigga’s reply was prompt and heartfelt, even if Loki wasn’t ready to hear it just yet. He shook his head in denial, but refused to speak further.

“Loki, my child,” Frigga moved closer to Loki and gently held his chin so he was looking at her directly, “had I known what was happening to you when you dropped from the BiFrost, nothing would’ve kept me from rescuing you. Not Odin, not Thanos, no one. Your life is just as important as any citizen of Asgard, and I am extremely angry and disappointed in Odin’s blatant disregard for your safety. Heimdall as well, and believe me- he will be very sorry for keeping this from myself and your brother.”

Loki pulled away from Frigga’s hand on his chin. He heard what his mother was saying, but wasn’t ready to believe it yet. 

“Please leave me be,” was all he said. He wanted to look at his drawings, and try to think through everything running through his mind. First Thor and now Frigga, he couldn’t handle the curve balls being thrown in his direction.

Frigga nodded and left Loki to his thoughts, as the door closed softly behind her, Loki’s thoughts turned to Steven. He hoped his friend was alright from whatever Thor had done to him with the cube. He knew hope was a bad thing, but maybe…. just maybe… he could start to hope again.

The young God sat tiredly on his bed, carefully pulling out his drawings. He would hide them away before sleeping. He knew better than to leave them out around here.

#### Stark Tower 3 Months later

SHIELD deemed Steve well enough to not be a threat after three months of working with Sam. It wasn’t the most ideal situation, but that was as good as it was going to get. Fury knew better than to get Barnes and his old friend on his bad side- it would be suicide.

Well, homicide, covered up to look like a suicide. 

Natashsa had missed her last two check-ins from her mission, so Barton, Wilson, and the two super soldiers were planning a search and rescue mission. The director knew in his gut that the original Captain America knew more than he was letting on about everything, so when the group started to head out on their mission, Fury would start his own investigation to try to figure out the missing pieces to this weird puzzle. 

He would be discreet and use channels outside of SHIELD for his investigation. But he had time. There would be no need to rush. Not for this.

“Sir,” said Hill walking up behind him, “there is a problem with Stark.” She handed him the tablet and Fury turned his attention away from his thoughts.

“There’s always a problem with Stark, Hill. You’re going to need to be a little more specific than that.” Replied Fury while looking over the report.

Of course. Stark was antagonizing terrorists. Just what he needed today. He held in a sigh, “Get my jet ready and an agent to help keep an eye on Stark.”

Another day, another disaster to deal with. Fury loved his job. Just not dealing with Stark.

#### -End Book 1-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm not sure how the rest of this will pan out time wise (ie: how long it will take me to get on paper). I have some ideas, but I'd like to get everything written before posting on any sites- similar to how I did this. If real life didn't become insane I would've had the chapters posted much faster. Sorry about that. I hope this chapter could answer a few questions without causing to many extra ones!  
> Thank you for reading!  
> ~L.A.~


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